Nigeria Bans All Things Gay

Not to be outdone by Russia or
India or Uganda, Nigeria’s president has signed a law criminalizing
same-sex relationships, and arguably even worse, stripping gays of
any sort of freedom of association with each other. Reuters

reports:

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan signed a bill on Monday
that criminalizes same-sex relationships, the presidency said,
defying pressure from Western governments to respect gay and
lesbian rights.

The bill, which contains penalties of up to 14 years in prison
and bans gay marriage, same-sex “amorous relationships” and
membership of gay rights groups, was passed by the national
assembly last May but Jonathan had delayed signing it into law.

Two similar bills have been proposed since 2006 but failed to
make it through parliament.

Sodomy is already illegal in Nigeria, so the actual
criminalization of gay marriages, while reprehensible, shouldn’t be
much of a surprise. Really, the country’s attacks on free speech
and association should be much more of a concern right now:

Any person who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs,
societies and organizations or directly or indirectly makes public
show of same-sex amorous relationship in Nigeria commits an offence
and shall each be liable on conviction to a term of 10 years in
prison.

That’s some scary stuff right there. Much like Russia’s ban on
“gay propaganda” making it next to impossible to legally advocate
for gays having the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts,
this part of the law essentially criminalizes any sort of
organizational efforts to ultimately overturn the law or attempt to
change public opinion so that Nigerians don’t see homosexuals as
enemies.

Meanwhile, here in the states,
Indiana is considering a constitutional ban on recognizing
same-sex marriage. Were it to actually move forward and be approved
by voters in November, it would be the first time since
North Carolina did so in May 2012 that voters rejected
recognition.