LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — In the Muslim north of Nigeria, a person could be stoned to death for having gay sex. In the south, he or she could face three years in prison. Now, a proposed law would make it illegal just to share a meal at a cafe with gay friends. The proposal under debate in Nigeria’s House of Representatives would outlaw not just gay marriages, but any form of association between gay people, social or otherwise, and publication of any materials deemed to promote a “same-sex amorous relationship.” Anyone attending a meeting between gay people, even two friends in a private house, could receive a sentence of five years under the act. Engaging in homosexual acts is already illegal in Nigeria, with those convicted facing jail terms in the south and execution in the north. Few in Nigeria’s deeply closeted gay community are publicly opposing the bill and it is widely expected to pass. Other activities specifically prohibited under the proposed law include participating in gay clubs, or reading books, watching films or accessing Internet sites that “promote” homosexuality.

Anglicans in Tanzania sever ties
to U.S. Episcopal Church over gays

LONDON (AP) — The Anglican Church of Tanzania declared last week that it was cutting ties with the Episcopal Church in the United States and would refuse to accept any assistance from Episcopal bishops, institutions or individuals that condone homosexuality. At their General Convention in June, the Tanzanian statement said, Episcopalians failed to “register honest repentance for their actions that were contrary to the dictates of the Holy scripture and the teaching of the Anglican Church … thereby indicating that they were deliberately choosing to walk apart from the rest of the Anglican Communion.” At their meeting on Dec. 7, the statement said, Tanzanian bishops declared their communion with the Episcopal Church to be “severely impaired.”

Prominent Malaysian trans
activist sees progress

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Transsexuals are gaining more acceptance in mostly Muslim Malaysia, a well-known transgender activist said last week, a little more than a year after she held a high profile but controversial wedding with an accountant. Jessie Chung, an ethnic Chinese Malaysian who had sex-change surgery in 2003, said her country’s trans population is “luckier than those in some other places” because anti-discrimination campaigns by non-government groups have helped to change the way in which many people view them. “I know this because when I walk down the street, strangers who recognize me often approach me with encouraging words,” Chung told reporters. “Our society is becoming more open-minded.” Chung, a Christian in her 30s who was born male, made national headlines by becoming the first transsexual to have a public wedding, on Nov. 12, 2005. She married accountant Joshua Beh in front of 800 guests in a ceremony conducted by independent church pastors. However, the government has ruled the marriage invalid because it is considered a same-sex union. Chung’s identification documents state she is a man, since Malaysians cannot legally update their gender status even after changing their sex. Sex-change surgery is legal in Malaysia, but activists have long said transsexuals here face widespread prejudice and often cannot find employment, forcing some into illegal sex work.

Denmark’s Faeroe Islands ban
discrimination against gays

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Faeroe Islands last week voted to ban discrimination against homosexuals on the Danish semiautonomous territory between Scotland and Iceland. In a 17-15 vote, Faeroese lawmakers included the words “sexual orientation” in the islands’ anti-discrimination law. The issue had been under heated debate on the islands after the 32-member Lagtinget last year turned down a similar proposal. Those who opposed the bill argued that homosexuality was against the Bible. About 48,000 people live on the Faeroe Islands, a tiny fishing community with strong Christian traditions. Discrimination against homosexuals on the islands is rare but became a hot topic in September after Rasmus Rasmussen, a 25-year-old openly gay musician, allegedly was assaulted.

Lesbian couple loses landmark Irish
case seeking marriage recognition

DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) — A lesbian couple who were legally married in Canada lost a landmark lawsuit last week aimed at winning the same legal rights as married heterosexuals in Ireland. Ann Louise Gilligan and Katherine Zappone — who were married in Vancouver, British Columbia, in September 2003 — were the first homosexual couple in Ireland to go to court to seek state recognition of a foreign marriage. In a 138-page judgment, High Court Justice Elizabeth Dunne said Ireland’s 1937 constitution did not permit recognition of same-sex unions and committed the state “to guard with special care the institution of marriage, on which the family is founded, and to protect it against attack.”

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