Nigeria's house of Representatives advanced an anti-homosexuality bill that would criminalize public displays of affection between people of the same gender and ban same-sex marriage, The Nation reports:
"It is alien to our society and culture and it must not be imported," House majority leader Mulikat Adeola-Akande said during debate, referring to same-sex marriage. "Religion abhors it and our culture has no place for it," she added.
House minority leader Femi Gbajabiamila said the bill represents "convergence of both law and morality." He said that same-sex marriage "is both illegal and immoral."
Nigeria's senate in November 2011 approved the bill that would make same-sex marriages punishable by up to 14 years for the couple and 10 for anyone abetting such unions. It also set out a 10-year sentence for "any person who … directly or indirectly makes public show of same-sex amorous relationships".
Gay organizations would also be banned, and AIDS relief organizations are concerned that they too might fall into that category. The bill passed a unanimous second reading in the House and will be considered next at an undetermined date for a clause-by-clause review.
