A letter from Integrity:
You may have heard that the Nigerian Senate is considering a bill (the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act) that would criminalize all activities related to homosexuality–from private consensual behavior to speech, assembly, and commitment ceremonies. It appears that the bill will be brought up for a final vote in the Senate on Thursday, March 1st. The bill has already passed the Nigerian House.
Davis Mac-Iyalla of Changing Attitude Nigeria is asking for our help. Here are two concrete things you can do…
1) Send an e-mail to Archbishop Peter Akinola (primate@anglican-nig.org ) asking him to use his considerable influence with the Senate to defeat the bill. Remind him that paragraph 146 of the Windsor Report states that, ”any demonising of homosexual persons, or their ill treatment, is totally against Christian charity and basic principles of pastoral care.”
2) Call the Nigerian Embassy (202-986-8400 ) in Washington, DC, to express your concerns about the bill. Remind embassy staff that Nigeria is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantees freedom from unfair discrimination and the right to privacy. Parts of the act are also inconsistent with the principle of non-discrimination found in the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and the Nigerian Constitution.
Integrity is working with Human Rights Watch and the Human Rights Campaign on other ways to defeat the bill.
See http://www.iglhrc.org/files/iglhrc/reports/Voices_Nigeria.pdf for copy of the bill, as well as stories from Nigerians who have experienced discrimination as a result of their sexual orientation.