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Barack Obama tells African states to abandon anti-gay discrimination
Source: The Guardian and agencies
Barack Obama tells African states to abandon anti-gay discrimination
Agencies in Nairobi
Saturday 25 July 2015 16.04 BST
President Barack Obama, commenting on gay rights during his visit to Kenya, the land of his father, said his message across Africa was that states should not discriminate against people based on sexual orientation.
Obama told a lengthy joint news conference with his Kenyan counterpart, Uhuru Kenyatta, on Saturday that treating people differently eroded freedom and then “bad things happen”.
“That’s the path whereby freedoms begin to erode and bad things happen,” Obama said. “When a government gets in the habit of treating people differently, those habits can spread.”
A number of Kenyan politicians and religious leaders had warned Obama in outspoken terms that any overtures on gay rights would not be welcomed in Kenya, where gay sex is punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
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Agencies in Nairobi
Saturday 25 July 2015 16.04 BST
President Barack Obama, commenting on gay rights during his visit to Kenya, the land of his father, said his message across Africa was that states should not discriminate against people based on sexual orientation.
Obama told a lengthy joint news conference with his Kenyan counterpart, Uhuru Kenyatta, on Saturday that treating people differently eroded freedom and then “bad things happen”.
“That’s the path whereby freedoms begin to erode and bad things happen,” Obama said. “When a government gets in the habit of treating people differently, those habits can spread.”
A number of Kenyan politicians and religious leaders had warned Obama in outspoken terms that any overtures on gay rights would not be welcomed in Kenya, where gay sex is punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/25/barack-obama-african-states-abandon-anti-gay-discrimination
