Homosexuality, Gay Marriage and Crime: The Way Forward? -By Dokpesi Timothy Adidi

Preamble

Human sexuality is a core and central issue in our life; and no one takes it for granted that such issues be treated with dispassionate sense of Judgement without showing a strong concern for the continuation of the human race. It is an unfortunate religious understanding to think that the world will come to an end very soon; as long as people still give birth. It should not also be taken for granted that everything will remain in the world forever. Nonetheless, the only moral vehicle which the human race can and will continue to make the world remain in existence is through procreation. As such, any other means constitutes nuisance to the society. The aim of this article is to critically draw the line between homosexuality, gay marriage and crime; this will create a soft landing for homosexual persons to be treated first as human beings with dynamic and distorted personalities (even though, they might not consider themselves to be such), and not as a criminal matter because of the big gap between homosexuality and gay marriage. In this article, I shall make an attempt to distinguish between homosexuality as a sexual orientation and gay marriage as a contract between two persons of same sex. Gay marriage is also known as same sex marriage; but the question is, is same sex marriage the same as the sexual orientation (homosexuality)?

The Nigerian Law on Homosexuality and Gay Marriage: Issues and Problems

The Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, which banned gay relationships and entrenched intolerance to sexual minorities in Nigerian society, was signed into law by the Nigerian Government in January 2014. Although, this might be a step forward into the right direction, but again it does not deal with the issue from its roots; and unfortunately Nigerian been a conservative country looked more on the issue from both culture and religion without consulting widely the implication of the law as promulgated. This indeed is a very dangerous lane to consider because of the intense commitment needed. The law as promulgated indeed addressed public values but did not address private practices of these values; and this is because it is not possible to stop two men from staying together; and it is very difficult to ascertain their sexual orientation because issues of illicit sexual relations can hardly be a public matter and affair. What the Nigerian law did was to stop gay marriage as a public act but not as a private practice; and no one does sexual activities publicly unless in extreme cases where it is an arranged activity. Two men might decide to go into a hotel room and no law in Nigeria stops a male from entering the hotel room with another male and this Nigeria law did not address. What the law only addressed is that gay marriages as a public function should be prohibited. The law does not stipulate clearly to what extent homosexuals should associate and their limit of association; which gives room for private sexual escapades. This automatically allows their activities to remain clandestine; and becomes easier to recruit even more people into the illicit sexual acts of homosexuals as the case may be.

It is true that in Nigeria the laws have been able to place embargo on homosexuals not to marry; and this as it is, is now a criminal offence. Nevertheless, the laws did not look at the issues that result to gay marriage which fundamentally should be the interest of our law makers. The fact an adult male and female who are not married and decides to have a consensual conjugal relationship justifies the fact that they are married? Should people be arrested for their sexual orientations which could be as a result of so many factors that are either determined or undetermined or their actions which are purely determined? Is it possible to separate their actions from their orientation? This indeed is a very controversial issue that scholars will have to constantly engage the legality and moral perspective on issues of this nature.

On assuming office after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the present Pope Francis decided to allow homosexuals have access to the Body of Christ (Holy Communion). This was opposed by some conservative lay Catholics and even within the ranks of the clergy; and of course that raised serious eyebrows from Non-Catholics; but again, not to the extent of homosexuals contracting marriages; because of its legal and moral implications. Nonetheless, it is important to situate this topic within the context of Nigeria rather than discussing the issue from a Western perspective, even though we cannot undermine its influence.

Recently in Kano State, on the 5^th January to be precise, fifteen (15) homosexuals were arrested for organizing a gay party; the Sharia Law enforcement operatives known as Hisbah stormed an event center along Ahmadu Bello Way and a compound located at Sabuwar-Gandu quarters in Kano metropolis and apprehended the gays even before the planned party took off. It was alleged that the organizers of the party were graduands who planned the party to celebrate their graduation from one of the institutions in Nigeria. The Sharia Law enforcement were set to prevent an unprecedented gay party, but is the arrest of these persons justifiable by law considering the fact that organizing a gay party cannot be equal to gay marriage? Was it wrong for people of the same orientation to express themselves in view of the freedom of association as guaranteed by the fundamental human rights and even the Nigerian Constitution? What is so unlawful about gays having their parties in view of the fact that they were not out to carry out a wedding ceremony of their member?

Heterosexual parties of young boys and girls and even men and women sometimes involves illicit sexual explorations and sexually provocative dance that can even lead to multiple sexual exploits and relations. There is a need to critically look at these questions in view of our Nigerian authorities to consult more widely in bringing experts to help address and redress the homosexual and gay marriage dichotomy. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons in Nigeria face legal and social challenges. Nigeria as a country does not allow or recognize homosexuality in whatever form or nature; and hence, there is no legal protection against discrimination.

The Threat of Gay Marriage to Family Life

The family is the vehicle towards the continuation of the human race. It guarantees the stability of the society to a very large extent. As such, gay marriage is a threat to the very existence of family life and perpetuation of humanity. This is because in marriage a man and a woman come together to express their sexual love which enables them to procreate and perpetuate humanity. We have argued that homosexuality poses a threat to marriage and family life, but it is not inimical to human sexuality. The simple reason is, our time is bedeviled by debates arising from contradictory social and political matters, which glorify human sexuality. This sort of argumentation can be a moral dilemma which can lead to controversies and distorted understanding of the moral position of homosexuality. Why then is it a moral issue in our contemporary society since human sexuality is determined by many factors, like cultural, political, legal, and philosophical aspects of life. It is this dynamics of human sexuality that results to controversies and contradictory understanding as to the exact moral position of homosexuality. Let us agree that homosexual act in whatever form (be it male versus male or female versus female; of which the opposite is heterosexual) is immoral. The question is what makes it immoral? Is it the act or the orientation? This is where we hardly draw the boundaries because of the way and manner most “homosexuals” are condemned to moral depravity. More so, sexual orientation in all cultures results from the complex interplay of biological and social factors which are not fully understood; and until we understand the dynamics of cultures and the increasingly globalization of cultures, then we should be very sure that in the nearest future the level of homosexual explosion in Nigeria will give rise to the rights of homosexuals and their right to preference and sexual orientation.

The act of homosexuality does not meet up to the sexual prerequisite of the purpose and end of the sexual act. This therefore is considered to be immoral and this is where gay marriage becomes very unlawful. Nonetheless, sexual orientation should be considered a process but not an end in itself because of the dynamics involved in such sexual orientation. There are laws to stop gay marriages but are there laws to help stop the orientation? Yet, it is the orientation that leads to gay marriage. This is a moral dilemma in the 21^st century because we have been able to take care of the effects but not the cause and the cause can only be rooted in the formative process and mindset of the individual.

The Way Forward

The way forward in such a moral dilemma includes:

1. Teaching Human Sexuality in Our Schools: Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, erotic, physical emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviours. The role of the study of human sexuality comes to play and becomes very imperative from our primary institution of learning and up to our tertiary institution of learning; and such a very core area of study is often neglected due to its misinterpretation, misrepresentation, and misconception. What is only discussed and taught in our institution of learning is only seven percent (7%) of what human sexuality is; and which is the reproductive system in biological studies. Government should be up to the task in ensuring that every institution complies with the directives of making human sexuality an approved course of study. Our tertiary institution should begin to think of constituting the need for School of Human Sexuality. This can collaborate with the School of Gender Studies which is a respond to feminist ideological framework.

1. The Necessity for Guidance Counseling Service: There should a department of guidance and counseling in every institution to help assist those with homosexual tendencies. The role of guidance counseling has often been taken for granted. Guidance counselors most times are reduced to just helping students in choosing their subjects and shown their career path. It is the duty of guidance counselors to help student discover who they are and appreciate what they are as male and female.

1. Government Partnership: Government can work with stakeholders and Non-governmental organizations including academics. This will bring about collaboration and partnership in ensuring that knowledge and information about the nature of homosexuality helps government in reaching an informed decision.

1. Parental Guidance: Parents to have a role a play in this regard; the home is the first institution and center of learning to the child. As such, parents ought to watch their children closely. This will include watching how they relate with one another as brothers and sisters; and how they socialize outside the home with their peers male and female.

1. Religious Education: Religious organizations again do have a significant role to play most especially in the spiritual direction and education of the child. Spirituality is part of human sexuality. This again will go a long way in ensuring that the child fulfills his calling and destiny as male or female.

Conclusion

We have highlighted that gay marriage is not the ideal form of marriage. Criminalizing it according to stipulated law is not the bone of contention in this article. This article finds that the processes of instituting the law are not exhaustive. There were no serious investigation, research and consultation before it was promulgated. The law did not deal with the real issue of generative process of sexual orientation. This is taking into cognizance the preventative systems that will stop individuals from thinking of engaging in gay marriage.