Slowly but surely, states in America have been accepting gay rights and approving same-sex marriages. But in Nigeria, they have thrown the wheels of gay rights into reverse and are making anything related to homosexuality a crime.
Last week, Nigerian lawmakers approved a bill to outlaw gay marriage and to criminalize gay activities, including public displays of affection between same-sex couples.
The Nigerian House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill which would make gay marriage punishable by up to 14 years in jail. The Nigerian Senate already approved a similar bill, meaning it will now go to the president for his approval.
According to the bill, “persons that entered into a same-gender marriage or civil union contract commit an offence and are jointly liable on conviction to a term of 14 years imprisonment each.” Further, “any person who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies and organizations or directly or indirectly makes a public show of same-sex amorous relationship commits an offense and shall be liable to a term of 10 years imprisonment.”
How’s that for turning the clock back?
The sad irony for me is this…..
I can't read a story like this (concerning Africans bigots with a hateful and backwards mentality) without thinking about just how MUCH they have in common with American (mostly Southern White christianist) bigots.
It really is quite something.