Gambia passes anti-gay legislation that threatens life imprisonment

Gambia has passed a bill that punishes homosexuals by imposing a sentence of life imprisonment, worsening the climate for sexual minorities within Africa's most anti-gay nations.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The bill that amended the criminal code was passed last month and brings life sentences for "aggravated homosexuality" minority leader Samba Jallow said. The charge is leveled at repeat offenders and people living with HIV/Aids.

You can be a light in the darkness with "prayer and action."

While Jallow's National Reconciliation Party does not condone homosexuality, he said, the reason he voted against the bill along with another lawmaker: "In our view, [homosexuals] did not commit a crime worthy of life imprisonment or any treasonable offense."

Gambia's current law makes homosexual acts punishable by up to 14 years in prison, which applies to both women and men.

This bill now awaits approval by president Gambia's president Yahya Jammeh, a ruthless autocrat who-back in 2008-instructed gay men and lesbians to leave the country or risk having their heads cut off.

During a speech made on state television back in February, Jammeh said, "We will fight these vermin called homosexuals or gays the same way we are fighting malaria-causing mosquitoes, if not more aggressively."

Jammeh came to power in a 1994 coup and is famous for his rhetoric condemning Western powers,.

According to the Associated Press, the bill contains language identical to an anti-gay bill signed into law in Uganda earlier this year.

Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act drew widespread condemnation from the international community, and was overturned in August by the country's constitutional court.

Gambia has previously launched crackdowns on the gay population. Back in 2012, there was a raid at a poolside birthday party in the capital, Banjul, which led to the arrests of 18 men, some of whom were beaten before undergoing reputation destroying trials.

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