Nigerian Senate Proposes to criminalize gay marriage

[Darth Lucifer]

Senate’s Proposed Law: Homosexual Marriages Attract Jail Term

Bad news for gays and lesbians. Anybody wishing to contract a marriage with another person of the same sex had better leave the Nigerian shores or risk three years in jail.

Also, any person or group of persons who witnesses, abets and aids the solemnisation of a same gender marriage contract may get five years imprisonment or a fine of N50,000.

These were the highpoints of a bill for an act to prohibit marriage of persons of same sex and solemnization of same and other related matters, which scaled the crucial second reading in the Senate yesterday.

However, the bill, which was sponsored by Senator Domingo Obende and 13 other senators nearly suffered still-birth when Senator Eta Enang (PDP, Akwa Ibom) argued that the Criminal Code has already criminalised the act.

The Senate President saved the day when he allowed the bill to proceed.

His position was that the bill should be allowed to go through the second reading and, during the committee stage, people who had observations against the bill could table same.

Subsequently, after a very exhaustive debate, the bill passed the second reading and was sent to the Standing Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, as well as the Committee on Health and Interior.

In his lead debate, Sen. Obende observed that same-sex marriage cannot be allowed on both moral and religious grounds.

“Even the Muslim religion forbids it, Christianity forbids it and the African traditional religion forbids it,” he noted.

He argued that same-sex marriage should not be allowed because it would lead to the breakdown of society.

While defining marriage as the institution where man and woman are joined in a special kind of social and legal dependence for the purpose of founding and maintaining family, the distinguished senator noted that by admitting homosexual and lesbian relationship to the privilege of the married state we would be devaluing and weakening the duties and the sense of obligation that marriage entails. He stated: “No same sex marriage is best.

The problem associated with it causes more sexually transmitted diseases, more childless relationships, more mental health problems and other major social problems, especially deprivation at old age.”

Other senators who supported the bill included senators Victor Lar, George Thompson Sekibo, Ajayi Boroface, Gbenga Kaka, Emmanuel Bwacha and Remi Tinubu. Lar noted that, from the religious point of view, same-sex marriage was ungodly and satanic and desecrates the institution of marriage as ordained by God.

He said the whole essence of marriage as ordained by God was for procreation. If same-sex marriage is allowed, she wondered, who would fill the world tomorrow and who would replace them in the future as senators?

I see that the anti-gay agenda in Africa can't come up with anything other than the same tired arguments against homosexuality; attacking the sanctity of marriages, procreation, etc. I'm saddened that while parts of the civilized world took a step forward and recognized the civil rights of homosexuals, Nigeria decided to take a step backward and oppress its gay populace.

Apparently nations like Nigeria are not called "backward third world" countries for nothing.

[Simon_Jester]

...Other senators who supported the bill included senators Victor Lar, George Thompson Sekibo, Ajayi Boroface, Gbenga Kaka, Emmanuel Bwacha and Remi Tinubu. Lar noted that, from the religious point of view, same-sex marriage was ungodly and satanic and desecrates the institution of marriage as ordained by God.

He said the whole essence of marriage as ordained by God was for procreation. If same-sex marriage is allowed, she wondered, who would fill the world tomorrow and who would replace them in the future as senators?

Every time I hear something like the underlined passage, I have to wonder about the person asking the question. Does a person who says this actually believe that there are so many people out there who would prefer to marry someone of the same sex that if they were allowed to do so, it would meaningfully impact fertility rates? Why would they think that? It strikes me as absurd- so many men put so much energy into the pursuit of women, not men, and vice versa... how can any person believe that there is this massive* demographic of people who secretly desire to enter a homosexual marriage?

*Again, "massive" as in "big enough to materially impact fertility rates," i.e. something like, oh, 20 to 30% as a low end estimate.

[TithonusSyndrome]

Senator Obende is from North Edo and so far as I can tell most of the other senators aren't geographically distant from him, either, so this isn't something that Nigerians looking to be taken seriously as a western-like state can just pin onto Boko Haram, either. Doubtless that they will support the measure unless they get caught up in some strange senate boycott or something.

[Pint0 Xtreme]

Most of Africa is a disgusting cesspool of homophobia. Countries like Uganda are attempting to make being gay a capital punishment. It seems unlikely that I will ever see equal rights for gay Africans in my lifetime.

[Thanas]

There are also a lot of western missionaries actively promoting Homophobia over there as well.

[Elheru Aran]

This surprises anybody? I lived in Nigeria for thirteen years. The great majority of people there are religious fundamentalists of one stripe or another, thanks to diligent evangelism by European and American missionaries and a long established tradition of Islam. The very fact that in my time there, Baptist missionary work in Nigeria was actually declining points to the mission board a.) shifting priorities to more 'unreached' countries and b.) the strong Christian tradition in the country.

So, yeah. It's not a very favorable environment for homosexuals at all. This is just going to reinforce the already-existing prejudices there, and nothing is really going to change until conditions improve significantly throughout the continent. The countries' economies need to improve, the vast disparity between the wealthy and poor needs to close up a bit, and when Nnamdi down the street gets a satellite dish on his roof, they might just happen to see that there are gay people in other countries, and those countries are doing perfectly fine... so what does the majority of the Western world do? Ask for oil, and that's about it...

[Chirios]

This surprises anybody? I lived in Nigeria for thirteen years. The great majority of people there are religious fundamentalists of one stripe or another, thanks to diligent evangelism by European and American missionaries and a long established tradition of Islam. The very fact that in my time there, Baptist missionary work in Nigeria was actually declining points to the mission board a.) shifting priorities to more 'unreached' countries and b.) the strong Christian tradition in the country.

So, yeah. It's not a very favorable environment for homosexuals at all. This is just going to reinforce the already-existing prejudices there, and nothing is really going to change until conditions improve significantly throughout the continent. The countries' economies need to improve, the vast disparity between the wealthy and poor needs to close up a bit, and when Nnamdi down the street gets a satellite dish on his roof, they might just happen to see that there are gay people in other countries, and those countries are doing perfectly fine... so what does the majority of the Western world do? Ask for oil, and that's about it...

Doubt that'd help. Africans would be like: the west is trying to import its values onto us; it's evil homo values, we must resist them! Completely ignoring of course that a large basis for their homophobia is from Christianity and Islam, neither of which originated anywhere in Africa, but were brought to Africa by various forms of conquerors and slave traders.

[TithonusSyndrome]

What you are describing already exists in the northern half of Nigeria in the form of Boko Haram, who I have already mentioned, an Islamist militant group who insist on autonomy for northern Islamic Nigeria and whose name essentially means "non-Islamic education is a sin". Nigeria being the ethnic and cultural pastiche it is, though, many Nigerians resent Boko Haram's attitude and values and could be counted on in many cases to embrace antithetical value systems out of what could almost qualify as spite, given an opportunity not unlike that aforementioned.

[Lord of the Abyss]

Every time I hear something like the underlined passage, I have to wonder about the person asking the question. Does a person who says this actually believe that there are so many people out there who would prefer to marry someone of the same sex that if they were allowed to do so, it would meaningfully impact fertility rates? Why would they think that?

A hypothesis I often hear as to why they think that is that they are repressed homosexuals themselves. Since they are constantly struggling against a desire for the same sex, and aren't willing to admit that it's simply because they are homosexual themselves, they convince themselves that straight people having an attraction to the same sex is normal. Something that all straight people are struggling against, not just them.

[Serafina]

Aside from that, it also makes sense in the light of the christian notion that everyone is born a sinner and that everyone is tempted by (the same) sin(s). You can't trust people to do the right thing, because god is the only source of morality and only works if you apply rigorous standards.

[Iroscato]

I had always thought Nigeria was a relatively more liberal country than most other African nations. Seems I was sadly misinformed. I love how the fucktards always think gay marriage will lead to a 'breakdown in society'. I mean seriously, they think once gay marriage is legal, everyone will start batting for the other side, so to speak. Seeing as I live in the UK, a country pretty liberal with this matter and where gay marriage (of a sort) is legal, I can safely say the streets are not filled with randy, murderous homosexuals looking to assimilate those damn frigid straight guys and gals to their movement.

It's almost endearing how profoundly thick and bigoted some people are. Ah, to live in the simple world of a fundie, where everything that an obselete, unchecked book says is right, everyone else is wrong, can't hear you LALALALALAAA, kill the gays, kill the jews, kill everyone who isn't their race and let them burn in hell etc, etc, etc. Bless 'em, they must get confused so often, like how almost everyone loathes them, like how they don't understand why they have such shitty, hate-filled lives even though they follow their doctrine TO THE LETTER.

This backward step Nigeria has taken makes me extremely concerned about the progress I thought we were making on these kinds of things.

[Simon_Jester]

Nigerians simply do not define themselves as part of a "we" that includes you, Chimera. And their standard of what constitutes "progress" is different, so they look at much of what you think is important and think it's irrelevant or actively harmful.*

Also, bear in mind that if there is to be global progress, it's going to be really damn slow, of necessity- there has never been a time when the human rights situation throughout the world was getting uniformly better.
_______________

*I'm not saying they're right. I'm saying they think this.

[Iroscato]

Nigerians simply do not define themselves as part of a "we" that includes you, Chimera. And their standard of what constitutes "progress" is different, so they look at much of what you think is important and think it's irrelevant or actively harmful.*

Also, bear in mind that if there is to be global progress, it's going to be really damn slow, of necessity- there has never been a time when the human rights situation throughout the world was getting uniformly better.
_______________

*I'm not saying they're right. I'm saying they think this.

I suppose you're right, and by 'we' I meant the human race as a whole lol.

[Chirios]

I had always thought Nigeria was a relatively more liberal country than most other African nations. Seems I was sadly misinformed.

What made you think that?

[Lord Baal]

I just want to say, what about procreation? Are they fucking insane? We need to stop the high birth rate and organize us better before keeping the numbers up. If it where my decision I would encourage same sex marriages. If a church don't want to marry them fine, they still have the legal right to have a civil marriage, that is nothing more but the legal abide of sharing the financial benefits and burdens as well a being able to represent the other one in certain circumstances (like one being in coma). THERE'S NOT EVEN SEX INVOLVED IN THE DEFINITION!!! A men without dick could marry a woman an live a (rather sad if they don't like dildos) life together and there's no trouble with that. If we are to abide that stupid reason the infertile women and mens shouldn't be allowed to marry too. That is so fucking stupid... humanity disappoint me in ever increasing rates...

[Iroscato]

I had always thought Nigeria was a relatively more liberal country than most other African nations. Seems I was sadly misinformed.

What made you think that?

I don't really know, I usually tend not to read up on countries in Africa for some reason. It was just the general 'buzz' I got in the background, if that makes sense. Probably doesn't.

[TithonusSyndrome]

Iunno, it's a potential BRIC candidate (how does that work?) implying a level of education and cosmopolitanism not found elsewhere in Africa, there's a reasonably vocal contingent of left-leaning activist Nigerians online who might offer a somewhat biased sample impression of the country, and it has had a history of being the enforcer of the AU's oh-so-benign peacekeeping operations in the past?

In other words, next to nothing?