After initially refusing to denounce a proposed law in the African nation of Uganda that would execute people convicted of being homosexual, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, released a statement Friday night to The Iowa Independent declaring the proposal “un-Christian.”

U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa (Lauren Victoria Burke/WDCPIX.COM)

U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa (Lauren Victoria Burke/WDCPIX.COM)

Grassley said his “commitment to traditional values” and “respect for life” holds true both in the United States and around the world. So with that in mind, after he learned more about the proposed legislation through the U.S. State Department, he was able to conclude that it is wrong and should be rejected.

“Based on what I’ve been able to learn about the legislation and from the stand point that I’m a born again Christian, I can tell you that I don’t agree with this un-Christian and unjust  proposal, and I hope the Ugandan officials dismiss it,” he said.

For days, Grassley has taken heat from gay-rights groups that felt he should speak out against the legislation. They targeted the Iowa Republican because of his reported association with a secretive group of Christian politicians that has ties to Uganda legislators who introduced the anti-homosexuality law.

Initially, Grassley balked at their request, saying through a spokeswoman that he is not a member of the Ugandan parliament and is unfamiliar with the particulars of the law. He followed up that statement by telling reporters that he was too busy “reading bills in Congress without reading the bills in another 190 countries.”

After a week of pressure from activist groups and the media, numerous conservative politicians and Christian leaders that have been linked to the law have publicly spoken out against it, including Rick Warren, author and leader of California’s Saddleback Church, and U.S. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla..