Africa needs to draw lessons from the California court decision to allow gay marriage

In May, the Supreme Court in the American state of California ruled that  same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. With this decision, the court struck down two state legislations that limited marriages to unions between a man and a woman. This ruling makes California, the second state in the US after Massachusettes to allow gay marriage. While delivering the judgment, Chief Justice Ronald M. George noted that "In view of the substance and significance of the fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship, the California constitution must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples" Yet again, a court of law has affirmed that gay marriage is a human right.

The decision of the California court is coming up at a time the issue of homosexuality and gay marriage has divided the Anglican Communion worldwide mainly due to the conservative stance of most African bishops. This ruling is coming up at a time of heated debate and controversy over same-sex marriage in Nigeria and Africa. Homosexuality is illegal in most African countries. There has been a clamp down on gay rights in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Zimbabwe etc.