Nigeria bans gay marriage, gay meetings -- Does so secretly

[nako xl]

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria's president has signed a law that bans same-sex marriage and criminalizes homosexual associations, societies and meetings, with penalties of up to 14 years in jail.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act on Monday. It was signed by President Goodluck Jonathan and dated Jan. 7.

It was unclear why the law's passage has been shrouded in secrecy. The copy obtained from the House of Representatives in Abuja, the capital, showed it was signed by those lawmakers and senators on Dec. 17, but no announcement was made.

Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday the United States was "deeply concerned" by a law that "dangerously restricts freedom of assembly, association, and expression for all Nigerians."

It is now a crime to have a meeting of gays, or to operate or go to a gay club, society or organization.

The new law says, "A person who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies or organizations, or directly or indirectly makes public show of same-sex amorous relationship in Nigeria, commits an offense and is liable on conviction to a term of 10 years."

Anyone convicted of entering into a same-sex marriage contract or civil union faces up to 14 years' imprisonment, it says.

Nigeria already has a law inherited from British colonizers that makes homosexual sex illegal in the West African nation.

"If that bill passes, it will be illegal for us to even be holding this conversation," Olumide Makanjuola, executive director of the Initiative For Equality in Nigeria, told AP.

Those who will suffer most under the law are poor, gay Nigerians, she said. Many rich ones already have left the country, or say they will fly elsewhere to have sex, she said.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ail&utm_term=0_74efee6205-1b19aa244e-23028645

Because this should take priority over stopping the people bombing prisons and letting out convicts like Batman cartoons.  Or running into schools with machine guns and machetes -- regularly.

Or the immense poverty and corruption.

THIS is the president's priority.

Ignore that they passed this law silently without any public mention or discourse.

Africa's getting more and more backwards and corrupt.  Bunch of cowards.

 

[951guero]

Where's Wale to make sense of this

 

[sneakaprince]

Damn Nako I know we wrapped before. I'm hitting Naija next week to get my youth service stuff processed.

Law doesn't affect me as much (probably cause I'm not gay) but it sucks to see such harsh discrimination laws.

Still love my fatherland but obviously there are many things that need to be reformed.

Keep me and our homeland in your prayers bro, hoping to come back in July with a more optimistic look at the future of our country.

 

[nako xl]

Damn Nako I know we wrapped before. I'm hitting Naija next week to get my youth service stuff processed.

Law doesn't affect me as much (probably cause I'm not gay) but it sucks to see such harsh discrimination laws.

Still love my fatherland but obviously there are many things that need to be reformed.

Keep me and our homeland in your prayers bro, hoping to come back in July with a more optimistic look at the future of our country.

The law is politicians catering to public religious pressure and just backwards *** leftover colonial ideals. 

Europeans and Arabs came through like "gay is gross.  being black is gross.  being yourself is gross.  here take this bible/quran and you can be as close to us (read: human) as possible for you lesser dudes."  And years later when THOSE countries are moving past that and learning to think for themselves, our people stuck there still on that ********.  There are people in Nigeria eating trash right now just to fill their stomachs til they can get that next meal, but what their politicians are worried about is filling their own pockets and making sure that demographic of people who may be starving to death while holding another dude's hand go to jail too.

The problem is either people are using religion as a justification for this, in which you can't even debate it with them -- and thanks to the law it's literally illegal to argue it any more or you may be accused of gay association -- or people there are like "Well I'm not gay so who cares."  Like I'm not gay either but I'm just tired of Africa being stupid.  Laws like these serve no purpose other than legalizing and empowering lynch mobs.

The whole thing is effed.

And all the meanwhile Boko Haram is STILL trying to blow the country up!

 

[sneakaprince]

The law is politicians catering to public religious pressure and just backwards *** leftover colonial ideals. 

Europeans and Arabs came through like "gay is gross.  being black is gross.  being yourself is gross.  here take this bible/quran and you can be as close to us (read: human) as possible for you lesser dudes."  And years later when THOSE countries are moving past that and learning to think for themselves, our people stuck there still on that ********.  There are people in Nigeria eating trash right now just to fill their stomachs til they can get that next meal, but what their politicians are worried about is filling their own pockets and making sure that demographic of people who may be starving to death while holding another dude's hand go to jail too.

The problem is either people are using religion as a justification for this, in which you can't even debate it with them -- and thanks to the law it's literally illegal to argue it any more or you may be accused of gay association -- or people there are like "Well I'm not gay so who cares."  Like I'm not gay either but I'm just tired of Africa being stupid.  Laws like these serve no purpose other than legalizing and empowering lynch mobs.

The whole thing is effed.

And all the meanwhile Boko Haram is STILL trying to blow the country up!

Man who are u telling. I was in Abuja 2 years ago when they blew up those churches etc at Christmas time.

During my last trip there I remember a chick telling me Obama is the Antichrist and that I would most likely go to hell for having tats etc.

Its actually interesting to see how things operate in Nigeria because their separation of church and state is so diminished.

Unfortunately its sad to see that gays will be persecuted very harshly until the mindset of the country can be changed. As you know there is such a large gap between social and economic classes it appears that there will still be a while before someone is able to come in and help the country realize that its time for certain things to change.

I will admit I really liked the occupy movement a couple years ago. It was an EYE OPENING experience watching the 99% work against the 1% during the oil strikes.

 

[johnnyderp]

africa takes another L.

 

[solexsup]

Im sure you guys have seen the videos of dudes getting beat to death because they were caught being gay

 

[sneakaprince]

Yup ^

 

[thorrocksjs]

Nigeria so backwards as far as priorities

 

[sreggie101]

Nigeria so backwards as far as priorities

word. and not just nigeria..

 

[nako xl]

[h1]The Simple Reason Nigeria Just Banned Gay Marriage And Gay Meetings[/h1]

Adam Taylor
Jan. 14, 2014, 11:20 AM 3,389 9

• inShare3
•  

REUTERS

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan
Nigeria's new "Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act," signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan without announcement last week, not only bans gay marriage but also criminalizes homosexual clubs, associations, and organizations. The penalties are up to 14 years in jail.
The law has clearly upset many Western observers. On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States was "deeply concerned" by a law that "dangerously restricts freedom of assembly, association, and expression for all Nigerians." The U.K. and some other governments in Western Europe have previously threatened to pull aid to countries that pass laws persecuting homosexuals, something that has scared other African countries, such as Uganda, into stalling their own legislation.

In the face of this pressure, why would Nigeria's government enact such an anti-gay law? Sodomy was already outlawed in the country, and it's unlikely that many homosexuals were publicly calling for same-sex marriage, so why bother?

The answer is depressingly simple: It's an incredibly popular opinion, and oil-rich Nigeria doesn't need Western aid in the same way other African nations do.

Last year, polls released by Nigerian polling group NOI found 92% of Nigerians supported the proposed Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act. Just 1% of those polled strongly opposed the law. Another survey from Pew Research last year found 98% of Nigerians didn't think homosexuality should be accepted by society — the highest percentage of any country surveyed. These numbers are truly exceptional. Even in Russia, a country that became notorious for its anti-gay laws last year, approval ratings above 90% would be extraordinary.

That incredible support helps explain the political motivations at work here. President Jonathan is expected to seek re-election in 2015, and while Western condemnation may sting, threats of retribution aren't as scary as they are for aid-reliant countries such as Uganda. Nigeria is one of the top crude suppliers to the U.S.

Nigeria had a rocky 2o13, with terrorist organization Boko Haram killing more than a thousand people between May and December in a violent bid to create a separate Islamist state in the country's Muslim-majority North. Jonathan's support of the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act can not only act as a distraction from this, but also allow Jonathan to act — much like Russia's Vladimir Putin — as a stalwart opponent of decadent Western moral values. Frankly, he's not alone; the leaders of other African countries like Uganda, Senegal, and Gambia are among those who have spoken out about homosexuality, and India recently re-joined the long list of countries where homosexuality was a crime.

If Jonathan is the winner here, then it's clear who the losers are — Nigeria's gays. Even though the atmosphere for homosexuals was probably already toxic, these new laws are only likely to drive them further underground. Dozens of men have already been arrested under the law in the country's north, according to the Associated Press.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/why-nigeria-banned-gay-marriage-and-gay-meetings-2014-1#ixzz2qQa2mj5T

 

[the 7th mile]

Nigeria wrong for banning gay marriage but God is right for burning Sodom and Gomorrah to the ground...mind blown

 

[rillo561]

Sad.

 

[furiousstylez23]

The aids rate in Africa is high, it's for the best.

 

[patrick bateman]

[COLOR=#red]I applaud Nigeria, get that madness outta here[/COLOR]

 

[patrick bateman]

Nigeria wrong for banning gay marriage but God is right for burning Sodom and Gomorrah to the ground...mind blown

 

[tommyicerocking]

makes no sense......

 

[rillo561]

Throwing people in jail for their sexual preference is madness.

 

[blastercombo]

Some of y'all's quest for an lol is disgusting.

 

[jaysfiend23]

Disgusting

 

[shotsrangout]

Some of y'all's quest for an lol is disgusting.

Ain't that the truth

 

[nako xl]

The aids rate in Africa is high, it's for the best.

what's the AIDS/HIV rate amongst straight people in Nigeria? 

Some of y'all's quest for an lol is disgusting.

Dudes are desperate for E credits.

 

[tommyicerocking]

 

[dankenstien88]

[COLOR=#red]I applaud Nigeria, get that madness outta here[/COLOR]

What are your thoughts on 2 attractive women kissing each other ?

 

[htg designs]

I'm not mad at this.