Nigeria moves to criminalize same-sex unions

From July 14, 2011, Sharon Slater of Family Watch International, and recent speaker at the annual convention of the National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), told delegates at a Nigerian law conference that same-sex marriage in the United States was a threat to religious and family freedoms.

On July 25, a bill was tabled in the Nigerian legislature to criminalize same-sex unions. The bill forbids any marriage contracts civil or religious between members of the same sex. It even removes the freedom to conduct such ceremonies in a church if such unions were permitted within the theology of that church. Here are the penalties:

According to an AP article out today, the bill has now gone through two readings and has had public hearings.

This bill is a watered down version of a prior bill which would have imposed more restrictions (see BTB for an earlier article on this bill). Thus, I am not suggesting that Slater concocted the bill or the effort. However, when she spoke to the Nigerian audience, she certainly did nothing to discourage the restriction of personal freedoms and added fuel to the fire already burning.

She and her organization have taken the position that they oppose laws which execute gays but she supports nations who want to make or maintain other laws which criminalize homosexuality.

In essence, this bill criminalizes any same-sex union. Here is the definition of same-sex marriage:

The clause “or for other purposes of same sexual relationship” is so broad that any coupling or any duration could be in view.

 

108 thoughts on “Nigeria moves to criminalize same-sex unions”

  1. Although it must be noted that the Bill was made rather worse than the draft above by the Senate, and ‘GBS reductions’ (by the UK and others) may well be triggered if it becomes law (which two previous drafts did not, of course, despite being considered by the Senate).

    Of course, Nigeria is a paragon of peace and prosperity and utterly free of all violence, corruption and dishonesty; I’m sure that this Bill will only serve to make Nigeria an even better place to live.

  2. Sure – if MPs in Kampala really wish to pass the Bahati Bill, they have the power to do so, just as others have the power to respond resolutely and vigorously to such a barbaric outrage.

    Threaten Nigerians with donor aid withdrawal then. Why threaten Uganda not Nigeria?. Don’t tell me you are scared of the Nigerians and their control over crude oil—the crack cocaine of every western government in the world.

  3. Anyway, here’s the Reuters report: http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE7AS0D520111129

    The most problematic aspect appears to be this:-

    Any person who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies and organisations 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.

    This looks very much like an attack on freedom of expression, though it is not as ‘all-embracing’ as the infamous Clause 13. Assuming the Bill does pass, much will depend on how this aspect is interpreted – for example is someone who publically opines that gays should not be persecuted going to be put in the slammer. (Bahati’s line is that someone who repeatedly expresses such an opinion should be hanged. Let us not forget that.)

    It might also be argued, however, that this Bill could be somewhat ‘tokenistic’; Nigerians are in practice not able to set up ‘gay clubs’ or get away with ‘public displays of same-sex affection’ in a country that is probably more violently homophobic than is Uganda.

    The report does suggest that the British will indeed reduce cash handouts to politicos in Abuja if the Bill does go through in its current form. Others might do the same, of course.

  4. Nigeria’s ‘Anti-Gay Bill’ is – while dangerous in certain ways, the practical aspects of which I’m sure will become apparent – a far cry from Bahati’s proposed totalitarian “Slaughter-Murder-Bloodbath” programme.

    It is interesting to note that the Nigerian Bill was considerably watered down from its 2006 original.

    Sure – if MPs in Kampala really wish to pass the Bahati Bill, they have the power to do so, just as others have the power to respond resolutely and vigorously to such a barbaric outrage.

  5. Banning polygamy is not the same thing as threatening to imprison and/or kill people for having consensual relations in private or for advocating basic human rights for gay people.

    Canada is not planning to imprison or execute anyone for having more than one sexual partner, the ‘ban’ on solemnizing polygamous marriages notwithstanding. Claims of ‘hypocrisy’ in this regard are therefore bogus and stupid – a feeble, dishonest attempt to excuse totalitarian and murderous legislation such as the Bahati Bill.

    Noone is telling Uganda that it must introduce ‘gay marriage’; Uganda is simply being asked by ‘donors’ to respect fundamental human rights. I am pleased that the British have said that they will consider following the Irish and Dutch examples, and switch resources from ‘general budget support’ to ‘project support’, if the fundamental human rights of ordinary Ugandans are threatened. (My only qualms about the British action relates to the making of a ‘grand announcement’; quiet government-to-government dialogue might have been preferable, in my view.)

  6. ‘Maazi NCO MP’ completely misses the point about Canada’s (and others’) laws on polygamy … and does so deliberately, I suspect.

    He tries to ‘justify’ Bahati’s “Bloodbath” Bill by hurling insults at others from behind a silly pseudonym. But noone with any sense will be fooled by his increasingly pathetic antics …

  7. Naaazi writes

    This word “International community” is just a code word for the “The Mafioso Committee of Western Nations.”

    You say “mafioso” like it’s a bad thing. Let me remind you that the great paragon of African anti-colonialism and anti-racism, Haille Selasse, kept slaves. The only thing that stopped slavery in Ethiopia was the invasion of Mussolini’s troops.

  8. Of course, the Nigerian Bill is not just about Marriage: the definition it gives of ‘same-gender marriage’ takes in partnerships that have not been solemnized. In that very important respect, it differs from Canada’s position on polygamy.

    That said, what Nigeria is proposing is, in many ways, very different from Bahati’s “Slaughter” Bill, the ultimate and total defeat – by peaceful means – of which should remain a top priority for the international community.

  9. Canada is not planning to imprison or execute anyone for having more than one sexual partner, the ‘ban’ on solemnizing polygamous marriages notwithstanding. Claims of ‘hypocrisy’ in this regard are therefore bogus and stupid – a feeble, dishonest attempt to excuse totalitarian and murderous legislation such as the Bahati Bill.

    Canada’s anti-polygamy law is a criminal code. So don’t pretend that it is benign harmless law because it is not. Hypocrisy is the name of the game for the western world. We in the third world are used to that. That is why we understand how it is possible for US government to support and arm the Saudi and Bahraini dictators to shoot and kill protester and at the same time denounce the Syrian and :ibyan dictatorship.

    Useful clarification on the UK aid policy: http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?storyid=%7B84191c4c-05aa-4eb9-936e-4e66fb79deee%7D

    What you pass off as a “clarification” is a radical climb-down by the UK government following the universal uproar in Africa to Cameron’s imperialist pro-gay blackmail. We are no fools. We know that the “clarification” is just a semantic word used by UK government save face. We don’t care. I am proud that Africa spoke with one voice on this matter. UK sees donor aid as a means of influencing politics in Africa and therefore will never cease giving useless aid packages even if Her Majesty’s government is on the brink of bankruptcy.

  10. What has ‘belief’ got to do with anything? Bahati wrote a bill, and we have read it.

    The suggestion that it is only the British who are concerned about increased repression against minority/vulnerable groups is … well … a ‘courageous’* one …

    Back to the Nigerian Bill: an ‘unintended consequence’ could be that two people of the same sex choosing to live together in a non-sexual relationship could end up being suspected and/or targeted. One knows how the ‘mob’ can get …

    (* The term ‘courageous’ has been used here in the way a British official uses it when his/her minister comes up with a particularly stupid idea.)

    ***

    Warren: Apologies – please scrub the three comments I’ve submitted immediately before this one. Thanks.

  11. (Don’t deny it, ‘Maazi’ dearest, noone here will believe you … because we can read!)

    Who cares what you believe. No Ugandan owes you an explanation. We are well past the “golden age” of the British Empire. The sun set on the Empire long time ago. The only “leverage” you have is the “influence-peddling donor funds” of Davey-Boy Cameron. The leverage is phoney because parliament has called your Prime Minister’s bluff. Many other African nations have called your baby-faced leader’s bluff. All you can do is to simply stay tuned to your short-wave radio, satellite TV, read international newspapers daily and wait for us to make our sovereign proclamation….

  12. Just on the matter of the British ‘aid’ policy: I would have thought that ‘Maazi NCO MP’, as a poor oppressed opposition politician, would approve in principle of the idea of transferring resources from ‘general budget support’ to ‘project support’ in the event of his, or others’, human rights being threatened.

  13. Note to Warren: please publish the second of the two comments above. Thanks.

  14. The writer of the articles does admit that the Nigerian Senate is not the ‘best loved’, suggesting that the Bill was passed in order to garner ‘cheap popularity’. No surprises there, I suppose. He also admits that ‘corrective rape’ is a problem in South Africa … something which demonstrates the often violent and criminal nature of homophobia.

  15. Well, it I suppose it says what you want to hear, ‘Maazi NCO MP’! We all know how much you love ‘big talk’!

    The idea that ‘gay-bashing’ and suppression of freedom of expression are ‘top national priorities’ for Nigeria is completely ridiculous. Fortunately, it would seem that enough politicians in Kampala are taking a different view, hence the current stalemate over the Bahati Bill.

    One thing about Uganda that is encouraging is that there does appear to be greater press freedom there. Papers such as the Monitor and Independent publish a range of views on issues like this, demonstrating less political control and more editorial freedom. I’m sure that you, ‘Maazi’, would not want your press to become simply a ‘mouthpiece’ for your rulers!

    Where did you study in the USA, by the way?

  16. CNN report: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/30/world/africa/africa-gay-rights/?hpt=wo_c2

    CNN reports that Amnesty International is very concerned about the Bill being used to silence those raising legitimate human rights concerns. It also reports a Ugandan Government spokesman downplaying support for the Bahati Bill, although I think we should not pay too much attention to that, given what ‘Maazi NCO MP’ keeps telling us.

    I would say this to Opposition MPs like ‘Maazi’: the Bahati Bill sets a very dangerous precedent in terms of criminalizing what most of us on this blog regard as legitimate dissent. He should think very long and hard before starting down the ‘Bahati road’; laws against speaking up for the rights of one particular group today can so easily be expanded to encompass attempts to defend the rights of other groups – such as Opposition MPs, for example. It should be noted that the British policy on aid is as much about defending their right to operate without persecution as it is about allowing such for those in consensual same-sex relationships and those who wish to express support for their human rights.

  17. And if NGOs and charities feel they have no choice but to scale back their anti-HIV work in the wake of the Bahati Bill becoming law (if it ever does … we keep being promised this, but it keeps not happening), the ‘double-whammy’ could become a ‘triple-whammy’. My guess is that some, maybe many, would say “if Uganda is going to take steps to make the situation worse, why should we keep trying to make it better”. After all, the Bill constitutes a direct threat to those working in this field.

  18. Apparently, the British have told the Nigerian Government that general budget support could be switched to project support in the event of a worsening human rights situation. At least that is what Reuters is saying; from the article: “The Senate said it had been warned that Britain could cut aid [sic] if the bill was passed.

    The Bahati Bill is worse than the Nigerian one, and punishment should always be proportionate.

  19. (Anyway, it’s not up to me how aid is deployed, though I think that, having gone public on its policy, the British Government now has no choice but to respond to repression whether it emanates from Abuja or Kampala or wherever.)

  20. ‘Maazi NCO MP’ keeps talking of ‘blackmail’. There is no ‘blackmail’; the Nigerian Bill has been kicking around for some time, and the British (and others, I suspect) are simply making clear their response to such human rights problems.

  21. Some may feel depressed, but I felt that what this Nigerian newspaper columnist have to say about his nation’s anti-gay marriage bill is very important: Click Here

  22. There has indeed been a lot of noise from Nigeria on this matter.

    But ‘noise’ in not the same thing as either ‘action’ or ‘truth’.

  23. Another editorial from the SUN Newspaper of Nigeria. Wow, Wow !!! Can we import these Nigerians reporters to take over from the neo-colonial dim-wits at the Kampala offices of the Monitor, Observer, etc.

  24. Again, one cannot help but notice how ‘Maazi NCO MP’ appears to delight in wishing harm to others. Does he realize how his nastiness actually plays into his opponents’ hands.

    But let us not forget that he is very keen on defending his own human rights. Although it could be argued that much of Africa does not exactly enjoy vibrant democracy, ‘Maazi’ is (understandably, in my view) most upset that his country’s government is proposing, through the Public Order Management Bill, to set tight limits on his freedom of expression. But he can’t ‘make the connection’, bless him.

  25. There has indeed been a lot of noise from Nigeria on this matter.

    But ‘noise’ in not the same thing as either ‘action’ or ‘truth’.

  26. Some may feel depressed, but I felt that what this Nigerian newspaper columnist have to say about his nation’s anti-gay marriage bill is very important: Click Here

  27. Again, one cannot help but notice how ‘Maazi NCO MP’ appears to delight in wishing harm to others. Does he realize how his nastiness actually plays into his opponents’ hands.

    But let us not forget that he is very keen on defending his own human rights. Although it could be argued that much of Africa does not exactly enjoy vibrant democracy, ‘Maazi’ is (understandably, in my view) most upset that his country’s government is proposing, through the Public Order Management Bill, to set tight limits on his freedom of expression. But he can’t ‘make the connection’, bless him.

  28. Two more brilliant editorials from Nigeria’s Champion Newspaper and The Nation Gosh, these are the kind of journalists we need here in Ugandan not the neocolonial whimps in Kampala….

  29. Two more brilliant editorials from Nigeria’s Champion Newspaper and The Nation Gosh, these are the kind of journalists we need here in Ugandan not the neocolonial whimps in Kampala….

  30. More pop-science, this time from Nigeria [the obligatory statements in bold]:

    Adjunct Professor of Scientific Theology and Biblical History at the United Bible University, Lagos and President of Shepherd Organisation, Dr. Felix Jovi Ehwarieme, who has worked with a lot of homosexuals to overcome the condition, said homosexuality is a learnt habit devoid of genetic manipulations.

    Ehwarieme, a surgeon and author of Homosexuality, explained that the habit often starts from masturbation taken to extremity.

    He added that although homosexuals use the Bible to argue their case, the Bible has clearly shown that those involved in the act would not inherit God’s Kingdom.

    “An average male child has masturbated at one stage of his life or the other. If this behaviour were not controlled, it would lead to lack of interest in the opposite sex. This often happens in the subconscious mind, so that by the time one grows into it, one would not know why one hates the opposite sex. This is because when one masturbates, one may have practiced it with other male children,” he argued.

    “So, by the time they are qualified to have sexual relations, they just discover that they have something that satisfies them more than natural sex.”

    According to Ehwarieme, there is a role played by hormones in masturbation. “One cannot just masturbate without thinking of the opposite sex. When you masturbate, you have a picture in mind of someone you like, a woman, definitely,” he said.

    “By the time you masturbate and ejaculate, you end it that way. After a period, if the woman you have in mind is given to you and you find that you do not enjoy her, you would still want to go back to masturbation, because something else has replaced original process.”

    The problem with homosexuals is that they do not know how they become what they are,” he surmised.

    Fool.

  31. More pop-science, this time from Nigeria [the obligatory statements in bold]:

    Adjunct Professor of Scientific Theology and Biblical History at the United Bible University, Lagos and President of Shepherd Organisation, Dr. Felix Jovi Ehwarieme, who has worked with a lot of homosexuals to overcome the condition, said homosexuality is a learnt habit devoid of genetic manipulations.

    Ehwarieme, a surgeon and author of Homosexuality, explained that the habit often starts from masturbation taken to extremity.

    He added that although homosexuals use the Bible to argue their case, the Bible has clearly shown that those involved in the act would not inherit God’s Kingdom.

    “An average male child has masturbated at one stage of his life or the other. If this behaviour were not controlled, it would lead to lack of interest in the opposite sex. This often happens in the subconscious mind, so that by the time one grows into it, one would not know why one hates the opposite sex. This is because when one masturbates, one may have practiced it with other male children,” he argued.

    “So, by the time they are qualified to have sexual relations, they just discover that they have something that satisfies them more than natural sex.”

    According to Ehwarieme, there is a role played by hormones in masturbation. “One cannot just masturbate without thinking of the opposite sex. When you masturbate, you have a picture in mind of someone you like, a woman, definitely,” he said.

    “By the time you masturbate and ejaculate, you end it that way. After a period, if the woman you have in mind is given to you and you find that you do not enjoy her, you would still want to go back to masturbation, because something else has replaced original process.”

    The problem with homosexuals is that they do not know how they become what they are,” he surmised.

    Fool.

  32. Anyway, ‘Maazi’, you didn’t answer my question about where in the USA you studied? Or would you like me to answer it for you?

  33. No way for the Public Order Bill …” says ‘Maazi NCO MP’.

    Now tell me something I didn’t know!

    What’s all this rubbish about ‘sex tourism’? Isn’t it just typical that someone like yourself should think this whole argument is about either sex or personal gain for me? (If that’s the best you can do when it comes to insulting me, I see I have nothing whatsoever to fear from you!)

  34. What’s your view on the Public Order Bill, by the way? Are you going to support that as well?

    No way for the Public Order Bill, but I will support a revised version of Bahati Bill. BTW, I just read in AFP—the french news agency—-that Nigeria’s lower house is vowing to defy Obama and Cameron and pass the anti-gay marriage bill. Now don’t feel depressed Richard !! At least you have still got your Britain and the rest of the western world !! Isn’t that enough? If you can’t have Safari Sex Tourism then you can have made-in-Thailand Sex tourism.

  35. ‘Maazi’, dearest :

    It is pitiful indeed to see you so animated by the prospect of arbitrary savagery; it is also pathetic that you want to make your ‘anti-western’ point by bashing your own compatriots. Is this your strange idea of ‘African values’, I wonder? Does any other African share it? (I’ve never met one who does.)

    (By the way, I notice that you still have to resort to dissembling in an attempt to make your point: the UK Policy is about redirecting aid, not cutting it. It’s very clear, and you – on this very blog – accepted that point but a few days ago when you crowed about a ‘U-turn’ that had in fact never taken place.)

    What’s your view on the Public Order Bill, by the way? Are you going to support that as well?

  36. Anyway, ‘Maazi’, you didn’t answer my question about where in the USA you studied? Or would you like me to answer it for you?

  37. No way for the Public Order Bill …” says ‘Maazi NCO MP’.

    Now tell me something I didn’t know!

    What’s all this rubbish about ‘sex tourism’? Isn’t it just typical that someone like yourself should think this whole argument is about either sex or personal gain for me? (If that’s the best you can do when it comes to insulting me, I see I have nothing whatsoever to fear from you!)

  38. What’s your view on the Public Order Bill, by the way? Are you going to support that as well?

    No way for the Public Order Bill, but I will support a revised version of Bahati Bill. BTW, I just read in AFP—the french news agency—-that Nigeria’s lower house is vowing to defy Obama and Cameron and pass the anti-gay marriage bill. Now don’t feel depressed Richard !! At least you have still got your Britain and the rest of the western world !! Isn’t that enough? If you can’t have Safari Sex Tourism then you can have made-in-Thailand Sex tourism.

  39. Look like the US is taking the ‘British’ line: http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2011/12/obama-admin-to-leverage-foreign-aid-for.html

    I’m sure others are also, but are being more ‘low key’ about it (which I wish the British had been, if I’m truthful).

    That is not what I am hearing from the africans who were present at the United Nations building where Clinton arrogantly talked down to Black African and Arab representatives. I am so happy with this because it grants us an extraordinary opportunity to rally our people against docility in the face of Western attempts to force-feed our people with the Gay Agenda. The Western governments in a desperate bid to satisfy the yearnings of sex deviants among their domestic electorate for free-wheeling Safari Sex Tourism has crossed the line on several occassions. Let them continue. They will hear from the Ugandan Parliament when we are ready. It is so pathetic that these western governments leave poor Richard Wilmer scrambling to mitigate their gaffees by playing with words—-“No, no, no…it is not withdrawal of aid !!!! It is redirecting the aid !!!! Can you not see that???” . Hehehehehehee 😀

  40. ‘Maazi’, dearest :

    It is pitiful indeed to see you so animated by the prospect of arbitrary savagery; it is also pathetic that you want to make your ‘anti-western’ point by bashing your own compatriots. Is this your strange idea of ‘African values’, I wonder? Does any other African share it? (I’ve never met one who does.)

    (By the way, I notice that you still have to resort to dissembling in an attempt to make your point: the UK Policy is about redirecting aid, not cutting it. It’s very clear, and you – on this very blog – accepted that point but a few days ago when you crowed about a ‘U-turn’ that had in fact never taken place.)

    What’s your view on the Public Order Bill, by the way? Are you going to support that as well?

  41. Another editorial from the SUN Newspaper of Nigeria. Wow, Wow !!! Can we import these Nigerians reporters to take over from the neo-colonial dim-wits at the Kampala offices of the Monitor, Observer, etc.

  42. Look like the US is taking the ‘British’ line: http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2011/12/obama-admin-to-leverage-foreign-aid-for.html

    I’m sure others are also, but are being more ‘low key’ about it (which I wish the British had been, if I’m truthful).

    That is not what I am hearing from the africans who were present at the United Nations building where Clinton arrogantly talked down to Black African and Arab representatives. I am so happy with this because it grants us an extraordinary opportunity to rally our people against docility in the face of Western attempts to force-feed our people with the Gay Agenda. The Western governments in a desperate bid to satisfy the yearnings of sex deviants among their domestic electorate for free-wheeling Safari Sex Tourism has crossed the line on several occassions. Let them continue. They will hear from the Ugandan Parliament when we are ready. It is so pathetic that these western governments leave poor Richard Wilmer scrambling to mitigate their gaffees by playing with words—-“No, no, no…it is not withdrawal of aid !!!! It is redirecting the aid !!!! Can you not see that???” . Hehehehehehee 😀

  43. (Mind you, despite the relatively ‘free’ nature of the UG press, there are still rather too many credible stories about the persecution of those who ‘speak their minds’ and/or ‘speak the truth’. Repressive legislation like the Bahati Bill and the Public Order Bill would only make that situation worse.)

  44. The writer of the articles does admit that the Nigerian Senate is not the ‘best loved’, suggesting that the Bill was passed in order to garner ‘cheap popularity’. No surprises there, I suppose. He also admits that ‘corrective rape’ is a problem in South Africa … something which demonstrates the often violent and criminal nature of homophobia.

  45. Well, it I suppose it says what you want to hear, ‘Maazi NCO MP’! We all know how much you love ‘big talk’!

    The idea that ‘gay-bashing’ and suppression of freedom of expression are ‘top national priorities’ for Nigeria is completely ridiculous. Fortunately, it would seem that enough politicians in Kampala are taking a different view, hence the current stalemate over the Bahati Bill.

    One thing about Uganda that is encouraging is that there does appear to be greater press freedom there. Papers such as the Monitor and Independent publish a range of views on issues like this, demonstrating less political control and more editorial freedom. I’m sure that you, ‘Maazi’, would not want your press to become simply a ‘mouthpiece’ for your rulers!

    Where did you study in the USA, by the way?

  46. (Mind you, despite the relatively ‘free’ nature of the UG press, there are still rather too many credible stories about the persecution of those who ‘speak their minds’ and/or ‘speak the truth’. Repressive legislation like the Bahati Bill and the Public Order Bill would only make that situation worse.)

  47. And if NGOs and charities feel they have no choice but to scale back their anti-HIV work in the wake of the Bahati Bill becoming law (if it ever does … we keep being promised this, but it keeps not happening), the ‘double-whammy’ could become a ‘triple-whammy’. My guess is that some, maybe many, would say “if Uganda is going to take steps to make the situation worse, why should we keep trying to make it better”. After all, the Bill constitutes a direct threat to those working in this field.

  48. The facts speak for themselves: with the recent rise in rabid homophobia in UG has been a rise in HIV transmission rates. What the article – quite correctly – suggests is that gays and sex workers do not exist in isolated ‘bubbles’; the reality is that there is plenty of ‘sexual intermingling’ between these ‘groups’ and people who are, for example, married.

    Even more repressive and punitive laws will lead to more HIV. Furthermore, it will make current anti-HIV measures less effective. I think that there are level-headed politicians in Kampala who understand his and want to avoid an ‘HIV double-wammy’.

  49. The facts speak for themselves: with the recent rise in rabid homophobia in UG has been a rise in HIV transmission rates. What the article – quite correctly – suggests is that gays and sex workers do not exist in isolated ‘bubbles’; the reality is that there is plenty of ‘sexual intermingling’ between these ‘groups’ and people who are, for example, married.

    Even more repressive and punitive laws will lead to more HIV. Furthermore, it will make current anti-HIV measures less effective. I think that there are level-headed politicians in Kampala who understand his and want to avoid an ‘HIV double-wammy’.

  50. CNN report: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/30/world/africa/africa-gay-rights/?hpt=wo_c2

    CNN reports that Amnesty International is very concerned about the Bill being used to silence those raising legitimate human rights concerns. It also reports a Ugandan Government spokesman downplaying support for the Bahati Bill, although I think we should not pay too much attention to that, given what ‘Maazi NCO MP’ keeps telling us.

    I would say this to Opposition MPs like ‘Maazi’: the Bahati Bill sets a very dangerous precedent in terms of criminalizing what most of us on this blog regard as legitimate dissent. He should think very long and hard before starting down the ‘Bahati road’; laws against speaking up for the rights of one particular group today can so easily be expanded to encompass attempts to defend the rights of other groups – such as Opposition MPs, for example. It should be noted that the British policy on aid is as much about defending their right to operate without persecution as it is about allowing such for those in consensual same-sex relationships and those who wish to express support for their human rights.

  51. (After all, ‘Maazi’ himself now accepts that there won’t be aid cuts … rather aid ‘redeployment’.)

  52. ‘Maazi NCO MP’ keeps talking of ‘blackmail’. There is no ‘blackmail’; the Nigerian Bill has been kicking around for some time, and the British (and others, I suspect) are simply making clear their response to such human rights problems.

  53. (After all, ‘Maazi’ himself now accepts that there won’t be aid cuts … rather aid ‘redeployment’.)

  54. (Anyway, it’s not up to me how aid is deployed, though I think that, having gone public on its policy, the British Government now has no choice but to respond to repression whether it emanates from Abuja or Kampala or wherever.)

  55. Apparently, the British have told the Nigerian Government that general budget support could be switched to project support in the event of a worsening human rights situation. At least that is what Reuters is saying; from the article: “The Senate said it had been warned that Britain could cut aid [sic] if the bill was passed.

    The Bahati Bill is worse than the Nigerian one, and punishment should always be proportionate.

  56. The report does suggest that the British will indeed reduce cash handouts to politicos in Abuja if the Bill does go through in its current form. Others might do the same, of course.

    From utterances of politicians, news commentators and members of the public in Nigeria, I do not get the impression that any one gives a damn what the British do with their blackmail funds.

    Sure – if MPs in Kampala really wish to pass the Bahati Bill, they have the power to do so, just as others have the power to respond resolutely and vigorously to such a barbaric outrage.

    The Bahati Bill shall become law at a time of our choosing….

  57. Sure – if MPs in Kampala really wish to pass the Bahati Bill, they have the power to do so, just as others have the power to respond resolutely and vigorously to such a barbaric outrage.

    Threaten Nigerians with donor aid withdrawal then. Why threaten Uganda not Nigeria?. Don’t tell me you are scared of the Nigerians and their control over crude oil—the crack cocaine of every western government in the world.

  58. Anyway, here’s the Reuters report: http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE7AS0D520111129

    The most problematic aspect appears to be this:-

    Any person who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies and organisations 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.

    This looks very much like an attack on freedom of expression, though it is not as ‘all-embracing’ as the infamous Clause 13. Assuming the Bill does pass, much will depend on how this aspect is interpreted – for example is someone who publically opines that gays should not be persecuted going to be put in the slammer. (Bahati’s line is that someone who repeatedly expresses such an opinion should be hanged. Let us not forget that.)

    It might also be argued, however, that this Bill could be somewhat ‘tokenistic’; Nigerians are in practice not able to set up ‘gay clubs’ or get away with ‘public displays of same-sex affection’ in a country that is probably more violently homophobic than is Uganda.

    The report does suggest that the British will indeed reduce cash handouts to politicos in Abuja if the Bill does go through in its current form. Others might do the same, of course.

  59. Although it must be noted that the Bill was made rather worse than the draft above by the Senate, and ‘GBS reductions’ (by the UK and others) may well be triggered if it becomes law (which two previous drafts did not, of course, despite being considered by the Senate).

    Of course, Nigeria is a paragon of peace and prosperity and utterly free of all violence, corruption and dishonesty; I’m sure that this Bill will only serve to make Nigeria an even better place to live.

  60. Nigeria’s ‘Anti-Gay Bill’ is – while dangerous in certain ways, the practical aspects of which I’m sure will become apparent – a far cry from Bahati’s proposed totalitarian “Slaughter-Murder-Bloodbath” programme.

    It is interesting to note that the Nigerian Bill was considerably watered down from its 2006 original.

    Sure – if MPs in Kampala really wish to pass the Bahati Bill, they have the power to do so, just as others have the power to respond resolutely and vigorously to such a barbaric outrage.

  61. The report does suggest that the British will indeed reduce cash handouts to politicos in Abuja if the Bill does go through in its current form. Others might do the same, of course.

    From utterances of politicians, news commentators and members of the public in Nigeria, I do not get the impression that any one gives a damn what the British do with their blackmail funds.

    Sure – if MPs in Kampala really wish to pass the Bahati Bill, they have the power to do so, just as others have the power to respond resolutely and vigorously to such a barbaric outrage.

    The Bahati Bill shall become law at a time of our choosing….

  62. Just read this off the internet :

    “Anybody can write to us but our values are our values. If there is any country that does not want to give us aid or assistance just because we want to hold on to our values, that country can keep her aid and assistance,” Senate President David Mark said after the bill was passed.

    “We should make that point very clear in this matter. No country has the right to interfere in the way we make our own laws because we don’t interfere in the way others make their own laws.”

    —–Mr David Mark, President of the Nigerian Senate after the unanimous passage of the anti-gay marriage bill today.

  63. Just read this off the internet :

    “Anybody can write to us but our values are our values. If there is any country that does not want to give us aid or assistance just because we want to hold on to our values, that country can keep her aid and assistance,” Senate President David Mark said after the bill was passed.

    “We should make that point very clear in this matter. No country has the right to interfere in the way we make our own laws because we don’t interfere in the way others make their own laws.”

    —–Mr David Mark, President of the Nigerian Senate after the unanimous passage of the anti-gay marriage bill today.

  64. By the way, the British policy was always as the Secretary of State at the DfID said. There has been no change, and aid could be diverted if the human rights of LGBT persons are not respected, or if there are other concerns about how ‘general budget support’ monies are used. Ireland and the Netherlands have already put a similar policy into effect; other governments could follow.

    I have been pointing out that the policy is as above for several days now; ‘Maazi NCO MP’ refused to believe me then … but, as usual, he was wrong! It’s a very balanced, reasonable policy, designed to promote the proper respect of the human rights of Opposition MPs like ‘Maazi NCO MP’, and others …

  65. ‘Maazi NCO MP’ completely misses the point about Canada’s (and others’) laws on polygamy … and does so deliberately, I suspect.

    He tries to ‘justify’ Bahati’s “Bloodbath” Bill by hurling insults at others from behind a silly pseudonym. But noone with any sense will be fooled by his increasingly pathetic antics …

  66. Naaazi writes

    This word “International community” is just a code word for the “The Mafioso Committee of Western Nations.”

    You say “mafioso” like it’s a bad thing. Let me remind you that the great paragon of African anti-colonialism and anti-racism, Haille Selasse, kept slaves. The only thing that stopped slavery in Ethiopia was the invasion of Mussolini’s troops.

  67. By the way, the British policy was always as the Secretary of State at the DfID said. There has been no change, and aid could be diverted if the human rights of LGBT persons are not respected, or if there are other concerns about how ‘general budget support’ monies are used. Ireland and the Netherlands have already put a similar policy into effect; other governments could follow.

    I have been pointing out that the policy is as above for several days now; ‘Maazi NCO MP’ refused to believe me then … but, as usual, he was wrong! It’s a very balanced, reasonable policy, designed to promote the proper respect of the human rights of Opposition MPs like ‘Maazi NCO MP’, and others …

  68. Warren you can delete the comment above and publish this comment

    Canada is not planning to imprison or execute anyone for having more than one sexual partner, the ‘ban’ on solemnizing polygamous marriages notwithstanding. Claims of ‘hypocrisy’ in this regard are therefore bogus and stupid – a feeble, dishonest attempt to excuse totalitarian and murderous legislation such as the Bahati Bill.

    Canada’s anti-polygamy law is a criminal code. So don’t pretend that it is benign harmless law because it is not. Hypocrisy is the name of the game for the western world. We in the third world are used to that. That is why we understand how it is possible for US government to support and arm the Saudi and Bahraini dictators to shoot and kill protester and at the same time denounce the Syrian and :ibyan dictatorship.

    Useful clarification on the UK aid policy: http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?storyid=%7B84191c4c-05aa-4eb9-936e-4e66fb79deee%7D

    What you pass off as a “clarification” is a radical climb-down by the UK government following the universal uproar in Africa to Cameron’s imperialist pro-gay blackmail. We are no fools. We know that the “clarification” is just a semantic word used by UK government save face. We don’t care. I am proud that Africa spoke with one voice on this matter. UK sees donor aid as a means of influencing politics in Africa and therefore will never cease giving useless aid packages even if Her Majesty’s government is on the brink of bankruptcy.

    Noone is telling Uganda that it must introduce ‘gay marriage’; Uganda is simply being asked by ‘donors’ to respect fundamental human rights.

    Uganda and most African nations do not recognize anal sex and other associated deviant behaviours as human right not to mention fundamental human right. It is not covered by UN Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 and latter day attempts to redefine some of its provisions to fit gayism will never be accepted by large swathes of world including the African continent.

    I am pleased that the British have said that they will consider following the Irish and Dutch examples, and switch resources from ‘general budget support’ to ‘project support’, if the fundamental human rights of ordinary Ugandans are threatened. (My only qualms about the British action relates to the making of a ‘grand announcement’; quiet government-to-government dialogue might have been preferable, in my view.)

    UK and other western nations are just playing domestic politics. They want to show their domestic voters who are sex deviants that they care about their right to travel to any part of the world for gay sex tourism. Cameron was so desperate to please the sex deviants in his country that he goofed big time. Oh yes, he really goofed and left Her Majesty’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office to pick up the pieces and make silly “clarifications” as a face-saving measure in the face of hundreds of newspaper editorials across Africa blasting the imperialistic blackmail. But we in Africa are incredibly pleased that we gave Mr. Cameron a backhand dirty slap across the mouth for daring to threaten us.

    That said, what Nigeria is proposing is, in many ways, very different from Bahati’s “Slaughter” Bill, the ultimate and total defeat – by peaceful means – of which should remain a top priority for the international community.

    This word “International community” is just a code word for the “The Mafioso Committee of Western Nations”. Our bill will not be vetoed by any Mafioso committee of Western governments (whether they issue public blackmail threats or secret “behind-the-scenes” threats to the executive branch of the Ugandan State).

  69. Canada is not planning to imprison or execute anyone for having more than one sexual partner, the ‘ban’ on solemnizing polygamous marriages notwithstanding. Claims of ‘hypocrisy’ in this regard are therefore bogus and stupid – a feeble, dishonest attempt to excuse totalitarian and murderous legislation such as the Bahati Bill.

    Canada’s anti-polygamy law is a criminal code. So don’t pretend that it is benign harmless law because it is not. Hypocrisy is the name of the game for the western world. We in the third world are used to that. That is why we understand how it is possible for US government to support and arm the Saudi and Bahraini dictators to shoot and kill protester and at the same time denounce the Syrian and :ibyan dictatorship.

    Useful clarification on the UK aid policy: http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?storyid=%7B84191c4c-05aa-4eb9-936e-4e66fb79deee%7D

    What you pass off as a “clarification” is a radical climb-down by the UK government following the universal uproar in Africa to Cameron’s imperialist pro-gay blackmail. We are no fools. We know that the “clarification” is just a semantic word used by UK government save face. We don’t care. I am proud that Africa spoke with one voice on this matter. UK sees donor aid as a means of influencing politics in Africa and therefore will never cease giving useless aid packages even if Her Majesty’s government is on the brink of bankruptcy.

  70. Warren you can delete the comment above and publish this comment

    Canada is not planning to imprison or execute anyone for having more than one sexual partner, the ‘ban’ on solemnizing polygamous marriages notwithstanding. Claims of ‘hypocrisy’ in this regard are therefore bogus and stupid – a feeble, dishonest attempt to excuse totalitarian and murderous legislation such as the Bahati Bill.

    Canada’s anti-polygamy law is a criminal code. So don’t pretend that it is benign harmless law because it is not. Hypocrisy is the name of the game for the western world. We in the third world are used to that. That is why we understand how it is possible for US government to support and arm the Saudi and Bahraini dictators to shoot and kill protester and at the same time denounce the Syrian and :ibyan dictatorship.

    Useful clarification on the UK aid policy: http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?storyid=%7B84191c4c-05aa-4eb9-936e-4e66fb79deee%7D

    What you pass off as a “clarification” is a radical climb-down by the UK government following the universal uproar in Africa to Cameron’s imperialist pro-gay blackmail. We are no fools. We know that the “clarification” is just a semantic word used by UK government save face. We don’t care. I am proud that Africa spoke with one voice on this matter. UK sees donor aid as a means of influencing politics in Africa and therefore will never cease giving useless aid packages even if Her Majesty’s government is on the brink of bankruptcy.

    Noone is telling Uganda that it must introduce ‘gay marriage’; Uganda is simply being asked by ‘donors’ to respect fundamental human rights.

    Uganda and most African nations do not recognize anal sex and other associated deviant behaviours as human right not to mention fundamental human right. It is not covered by UN Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 and latter day attempts to redefine some of its provisions to fit gayism will never be accepted by large swathes of world including the African continent.

    I am pleased that the British have said that they will consider following the Irish and Dutch examples, and switch resources from ‘general budget support’ to ‘project support’, if the fundamental human rights of ordinary Ugandans are threatened. (My only qualms about the British action relates to the making of a ‘grand announcement’; quiet government-to-government dialogue might have been preferable, in my view.)

    UK and other western nations are just playing domestic politics. They want to show their domestic voters who are sex deviants that they care about their right to travel to any part of the world for gay sex tourism. Cameron was so desperate to please the sex deviants in his country that he goofed big time. Oh yes, he really goofed and left Her Majesty’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office to pick up the pieces and make silly “clarifications” as a face-saving measure in the face of hundreds of newspaper editorials across Africa blasting the imperialistic blackmail. But we in Africa are incredibly pleased that we gave Mr. Cameron a backhand dirty slap across the mouth for daring to threaten us.

    That said, what Nigeria is proposing is, in many ways, very different from Bahati’s “Slaughter” Bill, the ultimate and total defeat – by peaceful means – of which should remain a top priority for the international community.

    This word “International community” is just a code word for the “The Mafioso Committee of Western Nations”. Our bill will not be vetoed by any Mafioso committee of Western governments (whether they issue public blackmail threats or secret “behind-the-scenes” threats to the executive branch of the Ugandan State).

  71. Of course, the Nigerian Bill is not just about Marriage: the definition it gives of ‘same-gender marriage’ takes in partnerships that have not been solemnized. In that very important respect, it differs from Canada’s position on polygamy.

    That said, what Nigeria is proposing is, in many ways, very different from Bahati’s “Slaughter” Bill, the ultimate and total defeat – by peaceful means – of which should remain a top priority for the international community.

  72. Banning polygamy is not the same thing as threatening to imprison and/or kill people for having consensual relations in private or for advocating basic human rights for gay people.

    Canada is not planning to imprison or execute anyone for having more than one sexual partner, the ‘ban’ on solemnizing polygamous marriages notwithstanding. Claims of ‘hypocrisy’ in this regard are therefore bogus and stupid – a feeble, dishonest attempt to excuse totalitarian and murderous legislation such as the Bahati Bill.

    Noone is telling Uganda that it must introduce ‘gay marriage’; Uganda is simply being asked by ‘donors’ to respect fundamental human rights. I am pleased that the British have said that they will consider following the Irish and Dutch examples, and switch resources from ‘general budget support’ to ‘project support’, if the fundamental human rights of ordinary Ugandans are threatened. (My only qualms about the British action relates to the making of a ‘grand announcement’; quiet government-to-government dialogue might have been preferable, in my view.)

  73. Just on the matter of the British ‘aid’ policy: I would have thought that ‘Maazi NCO MP’, as a poor oppressed opposition politician, would approve in principle of the idea of transferring resources from ‘general budget support’ to ‘project support’ in the event of his, or others’, human rights being threatened.

  74. What has ‘belief’ got to do with anything? Bahati wrote a bill, and we have read it.

    The suggestion that it is only the British who are concerned about increased repression against minority/vulnerable groups is … well … a ‘courageous’* one …

    Back to the Nigerian Bill: an ‘unintended consequence’ could be that two people of the same sex choosing to live together in a non-sexual relationship could end up being suspected and/or targeted. One knows how the ‘mob’ can get …

    (* The term ‘courageous’ has been used here in the way a British official uses it when his/her minister comes up with a particularly stupid idea.)

    ***

    Warren: Apologies – please scrub the three comments I’ve submitted immediately before this one. Thanks.

  75. (Don’t deny it, ‘Maazi’ dearest, noone here will believe you … because we can read!)

    Who cares what you believe. No Ugandan owes you an explanation. We are well past the “golden age” of the British Empire. The sun set on the Empire long time ago. The only “leverage” you have is the “influence-peddling donor funds” of Davey-Boy Cameron. The leverage is phoney because parliament has called your Prime Minister’s bluff. Many other African nations have called your baby-faced leader’s bluff. All you can do is to simply stay tuned to your short-wave radio, satellite TV, read international newspapers daily and wait for us to make our sovereign proclamation….

  76. Apologies.

    Technical error: for ‘repeat offenders’, read ‘serial offenders’ (it actually amounts to the same thing – see definition of ‘serial offender’ in the draft Bahati Bill).

  77. ‘Maazi NCO MP’ talks as if ‘Africa’ is the exclusive home of ‘moral purity’. It isn’t – just as any other part of the world isn’t. The notion that ‘Africa’ has some kind of ‘monopoly on morality’ is as laughable as it is dishonest.

    What I find interesting is that some of the provisions (e.g. the general criminalization of all human rights activities relating to the defence of gay people) recently trailed in a UN report don’t seem to be there. Unpleasant though it is, the Bill doesn’t have anything like the same all-encompassing ‘slaughter’ provisions of the Bahati Bill, where, under Clause 3, ‘repeat offenders’, even if they are straight, may be hanged. (Don’t deny it, ‘Maazi’ dearest, noone here will believe you … because we can read!)

  78. If you like you censor from morning till night, but you cannot stop Africans from doing what is necessary to prevent gayism from destroying their nations. You can blame Sharon Slater everyday forever, but let it be clear that even if she had gone to Nigeria to preach in favour of gayism. The Nigerians would have rejected such pro-gay talk and still initiated their law. I am glad that Africa is waking up to this deadly threat coming from the morally and economically bankrupt Western world. In fact, I will do all I can to assist other Africans should they ask for Ugandan expertise on these matters. Now censor that !!!!!

  79. From July 14, 2011, Sharon Slater of Family Watch International, and recent speaker at the annual convention of the National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), told delegates at a Nigerian law conference that same-sex marriage in the United States was a threat to religious and family freedoms.

    I am always amused when Westerners assume that Africans can never think for themselves and are waiting for the next whiteman or whitewoman to instruct them on what to do. Gayism is universally reviled in Africa and legislation being pumped out is a reflection of trends in the world which Africans are observing with alarm. Namely, attempts by Western nations to use multilateral international bodies to imposed their debased sexual culture on the rest of the world; attempts to bilaterally blackmail individual African nations and most importantly, the training of domestic puppets to peddle gay propaganda in their various African Nations and bankrolling attempts to use a few extremely liberal activist judges to impose gayism on African people.

    Trying to blame that lady Sharon Slater is just plain stupid. Any African who has assess to a newspaper or CNN International or BBC or any other international media organization knows that gayism does present an incredible danger to freedom of speech and freedom of religion. I don’t need Mrs Slater to tell me that there are vaguely defined “hate speech laws” in most EU nations which have been used to clamp down on people who merely express disapproval of gayism (like Pastor Green in Sweden who was slammed in jail for having audacity to preach in a church against gayism). We know that Miss Carrie Prejean lost her chance to become Miss USA because she disagreed with gay marriage. We know that the South African ambassador here in Kampala wrote an article criticizing gay marriage and was consequently charged with “hate speech” and ordered to pay a ridiculous fine.We have heard of religious civil servants in the UK being dismissed for refusing to marry people of the same sex. We know that in the UK, Catholic-owned orphanages had to close because they refused to give away innocent babies to sex deviants…. We know all these things. The Zambians know it. Nigerians know it. Ugandans know it. Ghanaians know it. Kenyans know it. Togolese people know it. We don’t need a Sharon Slater to tell us what we already know.

    In fact, if there are people to blame for attempts to pass new anti-gay legislations in African nations, then people like David Cameron, Barack Obama, Stephen Harper, etc should get the blame. It is the antics of these foreign politicians coupled with the incredible subversive actions of the Euro-American Gay Lobby (bankrolling and training local pro-gay puppets) that make it clear with each passing day that it is extremely important to pass adequate laws to arrest any attempt to pry away our deeply held cultural beliefs.

  80. Apologies.

    Technical error: for ‘repeat offenders’, read ‘serial offenders’ (it actually amounts to the same thing – see definition of ‘serial offender’ in the draft Bahati Bill).

  81. ‘Maazi NCO MP’ talks as if ‘Africa’ is the exclusive home of ‘moral purity’. It isn’t – just as any other part of the world isn’t. The notion that ‘Africa’ has some kind of ‘monopoly on morality’ is as laughable as it is dishonest.

    What I find interesting is that some of the provisions (e.g. the general criminalization of all human rights activities relating to the defence of gay people) recently trailed in a UN report don’t seem to be there. Unpleasant though it is, the Bill doesn’t have anything like the same all-encompassing ‘slaughter’ provisions of the Bahati Bill, where, under Clause 3, ‘repeat offenders’, even if they are straight, may be hanged. (Don’t deny it, ‘Maazi’ dearest, noone here will believe you … because we can read!)

  82. I have always held that the assault upon marriage for gays and lesbians was in fact an assault on freedom of religion. It is too bad that the predominant religion cannot recognize that. But then it wouldn’t bother those religions in the least.

    It’s a good thing they through in that phrase, “or for other purposes of same sexual relationship.” Because I don’t know many gays or lesbians who would marry for “the purpose of leaving together as husband and wife.”

  83. Well this is annoying .. just what religious and family freedoms does same sex marriag threaten? Perhaps someone should tell Sharon Slater that willfuly lying may be a threat to her heaven pass.

    Dave

  84. If you like you censor from morning till night, but you cannot stop Africans from doing what is necessary to prevent gayism from destroying their nations. You can blame Sharon Slater everyday forever, but let it be clear that even if she had gone to Nigeria to preach in favour of gayism. The Nigerians would have rejected such pro-gay talk and still initiated their law. I am glad that Africa is waking up to this deadly threat coming from the morally and economically bankrupt Western world. In fact, I will do all I can to assist other Africans should they ask for Ugandan expertise on these matters. Now censor that !!!!!

  85. From July 14, 2011, Sharon Slater of Family Watch International, and recent speaker at the annual convention of the National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), told delegates at a Nigerian law conference that same-sex marriage in the United States was a threat to religious and family freedoms.

    I am always amused when Westerners assume that Africans can never think for themselves and are waiting for the next whiteman or whitewoman to instruct them on what to do. Gayism is universally reviled in Africa and legislation being pumped out is a reflection of trends in the world which Africans are observing with alarm. Namely, attempts by Western nations to use multilateral international bodies to imposed their debased sexual culture on the rest of the world; attempts to bilaterally blackmail individual African nations and most importantly, the training of domestic puppets to peddle gay propaganda in their various African Nations and bankrolling attempts to use a few extremely liberal activist judges to impose gayism on African people.

    Trying to blame that lady Sharon Slater is just plain stupid. Any African who has assess to a newspaper or CNN International or BBC or any other international media organization knows that gayism does present an incredible danger to freedom of speech and freedom of religion. I don’t need Mrs Slater to tell me that there are vaguely defined “hate speech laws” in most EU nations which have been used to clamp down on people who merely express disapproval of gayism (like Pastor Green in Sweden who was slammed in jail for having audacity to preach in a church against gayism). We know that Miss Carrie Prejean lost her chance to become Miss USA because she disagreed with gay marriage. We know that the South African ambassador here in Kampala wrote an article criticizing gay marriage and was consequently charged with “hate speech” and ordered to pay a ridiculous fine.We have heard of religious civil servants in the UK being dismissed for refusing to marry people of the same sex. We know that in the UK, Catholic-owned orphanages had to close because they refused to give away innocent babies to sex deviants…. We know all these things. The Zambians know it. Nigerians know it. Ugandans know it. Ghanaians know it. Kenyans know it. Togolese people know it. We don’t need a Sharon Slater to tell us what we already know.

    In fact, if there are people to blame for attempts to pass new anti-gay legislations in African nations, then people like David Cameron, Barack Obama, Stephen Harper, etc should get the blame. It is the antics of these foreign politicians coupled with the incredible subversive actions of the Euro-American Gay Lobby (bankrolling and training local pro-gay puppets) that make it clear with each passing day that it is extremely important to pass adequate laws to arrest any attempt to pry away our deeply held cultural beliefs.

  86. I have always held that the assault upon marriage for gays and lesbians was in fact an assault on freedom of religion. It is too bad that the predominant religion cannot recognize that. But then it wouldn’t bother those religions in the least.

    It’s a good thing they through in that phrase, “or for other purposes of same sexual relationship.” Because I don’t know many gays or lesbians who would marry for “the purpose of leaving together as husband and wife.”

  87. Well this is annoying .. just what religious and family freedoms does same sex marriag threaten? Perhaps someone should tell Sharon Slater that willfuly lying may be a threat to her heaven pass.

    Dave

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