Voted off the island.When two men were wed in a public ceremony in Zanzibar last year, local officials and Muslim clerics were so upset that they lobbied the government to ban all gay practices. Now it appears they were successful. On April 13 lawmakers in this predominantly pre·dom·i·nant adj. 1. Having greatest ascendancy, importance, influence, authority, or force. See Synonyms at dominant. 2. Muslim archipelago Archipelago (ärkĭpĕl`əgō) [Ital., from Gr.=chief sea], ancient name of the Aegean Sea, later applied to the numerous islands it contains. The word now designates any cluster of islands. of about a million people not only banned same-sex marriage Noun 1. same-sex marriage - two people of the same sex who live together as a family; "the legal status of same-sex marriages has been hotly debated" couple, twosome, duet, duo - a pair who associate with one another; "the engaged couple"; "an inseparable but outlawed gay sex and made it a crime to provide an enabling environment to gays and lesbians. "There has been increasing homosexual homosexual /ho·mo·sex·u·al/ (-sek´shoo-al) 1. pertaining to, characteristic of, or directed toward the same sex. 2. one who is sexually attracted to persons of the same sex. behavior in this part of East Africa," said Adam Mwakanjuki, Zanzibar's constitutional affairs minister. "We want to be very specific that this sort of thing is not acceptable in Zanzibar." Under the new legislation, same-sex marriage carries a penalty of up to five years in prison for each person, gay male sex up to 25 years, and lesbian sex up to seven years. Those who harbor gays or host same-sex marriages can also get up to five years. |
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