Gabon releases men arrested after gay wedding
A total of six men have been released in Gabon after being arrested in connection with a reported same-sex wedding, the Associated Press said.
Gabon has no law against gay marriage or homosexual activity, unlike 38 other African countries.
About the six arrestees (previously reported as three men), the article reported:
“Officials who held them for one night decided not to bring charges against them after determining that no marriage had occurred, said prosecutor Sidonie Flore Ouwe. …
“Ouwe said that a gay marriage ceremony would constitute obscenity and an affront to public order punishable by law.”
A reputed same-sex wedding on the night of Dec. 29-30 was widely reported in Gabon by Gabonews, Afrik.com, Gabon Review and Gabon Libre.
A reason for Ouwe’s conclusion that no marriage occurred was that members of the two parties’ families were not present, as would be expected in a traditional wedding, she said, as quoted in the Gabon Review:
“In this case, no member of the biological family of those allegedly married was present at the ceremony. It is therefore not a customary marriage,” Ouwe said.
She proposed that the government should enact a law governing homosexuality in Gabon.
The Gabon Review urged the country’s leaders to think about how to respect people’s “right to lead their lives as they want” before passing such laws.
Related articles
- Same-sex wedding leads to 3 arrests in Gabon (76crimes.com)
