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Loading ...Nigeria moves to ban gay marriage
01.29.2009 4:56pm EST
(New York City) Even though homosexuality is illegal in Nigeria, the country’s Parliament is considering legislation that would make it a crime for two people of the same-sex to marry.
Consenting gay sex is punishable by up to 14 year in prison with hard labor.Under the anti-gay marriage bill, a same-sex couple married anywhere and returning to Nigeria, or anyone who is married to a same-sex partner who travels to Nigeria including foreign business people, would be jailed for up to three years.
The legislation also would imprison anyone who attends a gay wedding with up to five years behind bars.
In addition, police would have the right to raid public or private gatherings of any group of people suspected of being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
The measure would increase the risk of violence and other acts of discrimination against individuals who are suspected of being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, said Amnesty International.
“It is simply unacceptable to single out one group of people to be deprived of the rights we all enjoy,” said Aster Van Kregten, Amnesty International’s Nigeria researcher. “Legalizing discrimination is reprehensible in itself and can only promote acts of hatred.”
Van Kregten said that the bill before Parliament would violate rights guaranteed in the Nigerian constitution and by human rights treaties.
In 2006, a similar bill was introduced, but died when the government fell.
Amnesty International has expressed in the past concerns about human rights abuses against individuals on the basis of their actual or perceived sexuality.
In August 2007, police in Bauchi arrested 18 men suspected of same-sex relations, charging them with belonging to an unlawful society, committing indecent acts, and engaging in criminal conspiracy. In 2008, several men and women were also arrested and detained on charges of engaging in consensual same-sex relations.
Well, if the Nigerian’s want to discruminate against us – the we should discriminate against THEM and start with a full-fledged BOYCOTT!
What would one expect from a country full of filthy ignorant pathetic people!
Boycott them as Chris sullivan said!
“What would one expect from a country full of filthy ignorant pathetic people!”
What a thoroughly repugnant attitude. You make me ashamed to be gay.
Nigeria is a country with significant problems, not least of which being its record on human rights. It’s not just the gay community who are victims of abuse in Nigeria – members of minority religious and ethnic groups, women and children are all treated poorly.
There is no doubt that this is a despicable step to even consider and that the country should be moving towards legalising homosexuality instead, but to describe all Nigerians as “filthy ignorant pathetic people” is disgusting.
There are some good people in Nigeria fighting to make a difference, both for the gay community and for other oppressed groups. Those people do not enjoy the same freedoms that you do on your comfortable soapbox in America. Those people risk imprisonment and even death for standing up for the rights of minorities, for fighting for very basic human rights.
It puts it into perspective, doesn’t it. In the UK, in the US, we’re fighting for the right for gay couples to marry. In Nigeria there are people fighting for the right for gay people to exist at all.
Criticise those who are suggesting this measure. Criticise those who support this measure. However, don’t you dare tar all the people of Nigeria with the same brush, because there are some there with a hell of a lot more guts than you or I fighting for rights we have enjoyed all our lives, rights our parents probably enjoyed too.
I wold go a step further and ask the US to impose santions and ban all trade with this country. This is something that they shoudl also do with Jamaica, another homophobic nation.
Exactly Isaac.
Peter-Nicholas, do you really think it wise to call Nigerians ignorant and pathetic? Yes, some of their leaders and many of the citizens may be, but do not forget there are gays and lesbians that are suffering there.
While it might not be a bad idea to pursue sanctions against Nigeria, I fear that isn’t going to happen, for one simple reason: Nigeria exports oil. Lots of it. What we’re going to need to do instead is to use actual diplomacy if we intend to make a difference here. As well we should.
What do you expect of a country that arrested a goat recently for murder.
Peter-Nicholas’ comments are equally distressing.
What you guys fail to realized is that there are gay people living in Nigeria (Africa as a whole). If you are talking about discrimination yet using words such as Filthy and Ignorant to describe people, then you are no better than the people discriminating against us. One thing you have to take into consideration is that most African Govt deemed same-sex relationship as immoral to begin with. I am not Nigeria but I am African. We should not sit out here and be negative about things, instead we should try to figure out a way to help out those people out there trying to fight for our rights. Take this as a temporary setback. What have you done to help/ motivate the people out there sacrificing/ fighting for our rights?
“A non-doer is very often a critic-that is, someone who sits back and watches doers, and then waxes philosophically about how the doers are doing. It’s easy to be a critic, but being a doer requires effort, risk, and change.” Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
Do not be critic.. better yet do not be a Crass. Thanks
Let’s not forget that Peter Akinola is the one who puts the majority of these ideas to the government. Hopefully there is a special place in Hell reserved for Akinola and his likes.
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What do you expect of a country that arrested a goat recently for murder.
HaaHaaheeheehoehoahhlollololol…
wow . this is big .
Why is this surprising?
Any country that has (fully or partially like in Nigeria) Sharia is bound to be radically oppressive. They still stone people for premarital sex for crying out loud. Even the Christian areas of Nigeria are terribly homophobic.
Africa is a region of the world with more problems than one can imagine. This is one of many.
That being said, aside from perhaps South Africa and Red Sea region of Egypt, I avoid this region (and the Islamist Middle East) for much the same reason.
We in the West should try and use diplomacy to apply pressure on them to respect gay civil rights, but the Africans do not usually respond well.
We could at least lead by example and perfect our societies by granting equal rights including marriage for all sexual orientations.
In addition, we should stop wasting money on foreign to these places. They are like black holes for funds that could be otherwise well spent on our own miseries.
The civilized world should, however, send them massive loads fo condoms and sexual education materials to help them deal with HIV and overpopulation.
If the American or European families had 8 children per family and HIV infected, we would all be very poor indeed. The HIV infection rates are way too high and their population growth far from sustainable.
Toss them out of this country unless they sign a pledge in public to support equality for our gay citizens.
To hell with them, or perhaps we should find the good people there, and give them arms – the kind that go bang
Once again we see the results of having a theocracy. And it’s even more obvious that this is just another move to try to divert attention away from the corrupt practices of those in power. Christian and Muslim extremists, both kinds hold sway in Nigeria now, and they are exporting it back here to the US in the form of priests and nuns of both Catholic and Episcopal denominations. I visited Nigeria back in 1974, just after their civil war, and I found the people to be the most wonderful, warm, generous and exuberant people! It’s too bad they are under the heel of these pretenders, they who call themselves men of god and civil servants. It’s a complete disaster. I’m not sure boycott is the answer. But I do think that political pressure should be placed when dealing with the Nigerian Government whenever it wishes to receive foreign aid. Of course, we’ve just finished eight years under a president who didn’t give a shit about what anybody did to persecute gays and lesbians for any reason. And who only wanted the oil they produce in Nigeria, or anywhere, for that matter. There are anti-gay death squads in Iraq today, employed by the very president, al-Maliki, whom our government supports and props in place. We do the same with the government in Nigeria. W. didn’t care what we did to the fags, as long as we got a good deal on oil.