Battling Homophobia: Same-Sex Marriage Bans Across the Globe

A look at bans on homosexuality across globe.

Battling Homophobia: Same-Sex Marriage Bans Across the Globe - Illinois became the 16th state to permit same-sex marriage on Nov. 20 and more states are predicted to follow suit since the U.S. expanded federal benefits for married gay couples. But as the United States becomes more liberal, nations such as India and Russia have been making headlines for their harsh laws on LGBT relationships. BET.com takes a look at the battle that gays and lesbians are facing domestically and beyond. — Dominique Zonyéé(Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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Battling Homophobia: Same-Sex Marriage Bans Across the Globe - Illinois became the 16th state to permit same-sex marriage on Nov. 20 and more states are predicted to follow suit since the U.S. expanded federal benefits for married gay couples. But as the United States becomes more liberal, nations such as India and Russia have been making headlines for their harsh laws on LGBT relationships. BET.com takes a look at the battle that gays and lesbians are facing domestically and beyond. — Dominique Zonyéé(Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

India’s Anti-Gay Sex Law - India’s lower court decriminalized homosexual conduct in 2009, but on Dec. 11, a supreme court struck down the lower court decision, making same-sex relations illegal yet again. "We cannot be forced back into the closet. We are not backing off from our fight against discrimination," said Gautam Bhan, an activist who had petitioned the court.(Photo: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)

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India’s Anti-Gay Sex Law - India’s lower court decriminalized homosexual conduct in 2009, but on Dec. 11, a supreme court struck down the lower court decision, making same-sex relations illegal yet again. "We cannot be forced back into the closet. We are not backing off from our fight against discrimination," said Gautam Bhan, an activist who had petitioned the court.(Photo: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)

Liberia Considers Two Anti-Gay Proposals - Two new bills were introduced into Liberia's legislature which would make the country the latest in the African continent to punish homosexuality with possible jail time.  (Photo: REUTERS/James Akena)

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Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” Bill Resurfaces - Since Uganda’s Anti-Homosexual Bill was put on the table in 2009, it is still one vote away from becoming a law. But the current trial of a British man accused of "trafficking obscene publications” when a laptop featuring images of him having sex with another man was stolen, has put the bill at center stage again.(Photo: REUTERS/James Akena)

Senegal Sentences Two Gay Men to Prison - Two gay Senegalese men were convicted to six months in prison and faced criminal charges for having sex. They were arrested after their neighbors called police to their home in Dakar, the country’s capital. The men were sentenced under a code that outlaws “an improper or unnatural act with the person of the same sex.”(Photo: REUTERS/Normand Blouin)

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Senegal Is “Not Ready to Decriminalize Homosexuality” - While on a visit to Africa in July, President Obama encouraged African leaders to extend equal rights to gays and lesbians, but was met with strong opposition from Senegalese President Macky Stall. Senegal's penal code imposes prison sentences of up to five years and fines of up to $3,000 for committing "an improper or unnatural act with a person of the same sex."(Photo: REUTERS/Normand Blouin )

Russia and the Sochi Winter Olympic Games Controversy - Russia is set to host the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi in February, but the nation’s ban on homosexual “propaganda,” signed by President Vladimir Putin in June, is causing athletes and public figures to protest. Although many athletes planned to speak out at the games in 2014, the International Olympics Committee warned athletes not to petition because they “will not get involved.”(Photo: AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File)

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Russia and the Sochi Winter Olympic Games Controversy - Russia is set to host the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi in February, but the nation’s ban on homosexual “propaganda,” signed by President Vladimir Putin in June, is causing athletes and public figures to protest. Although many athletes planned to speak out at the games in 2014, the International Olympics Committee warned athletes not to petition because they “will not get involved.”(Photo: AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File)

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Croatia’s Catholic Church Votes Against Gay Marriage - In a Dec. 1 referendum to ban gay marriage, 65 percent of those who voted answered "yes" to the referendum question: "Do you agree that marriage is matrimony between a man and a woman.” Croatia’s constitution will be amended to ban same-sex marriage as a result of the outcome from the votes. (Photo: REUTERS/Antonio Bronic)

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Croatia’s Catholic Church Votes Against Gay Marriage - In a Dec. 1 referendum to ban gay marriage, 65 percent of those who voted answered "yes" to the referendum question: "Do you agree that marriage is matrimony between a man and a woman.” Croatia’s constitution will be amended to ban same-sex marriage as a result of the outcome from the votes. (Photo: REUTERS/Antonio Bronic)

Haiti - A proposal to legalize gay marriage in Haiti was met with an unprecedented demonstration on July 19, 2013, in the Caribbean nation. More than 1,000 people from a mix of religious groups, including the Protestant church and Islam, denounced homosexuality by raising anti-gay posters and singing violent protest songs.(Photo: THONY BELIZAIRE/AFP/Getty Images)

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Haiti’s Gay Rights Office Attacked - Same-sex marriage and homosexual acts are illegal in Haiti, and in July more than 1,000 people protested a proposal to legalize gay marriage in the Caribbean nation. Like many other nations were homosexuality is illegal, organizations emerged to protect the LGBT communities. But in November, a gay rights group’s office was ransacked and two members were brutally beaten.(Photo: THONY BELIZAIRE/AFP/Getty Images)

Man Sentenced to Jail for Gay Sex in Cameroon - Even though same-sex sexual acts are punishable by a maximum of five years in prison, a Cameroon man was sentenced to nine years in prison on Nov. 20. Cameroon Empowerment Association for Outreach Programs (CAMEF), an LGBT activist organization, claimed the charges were manipulated. (Photo: Reinnier KAZE/AFP/Getty Images)

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Man Sentenced to Jail for Gay Sex in Cameroon - Even though same-sex sexual acts are punishable by a maximum of five years in prison, a Cameroon man was sentenced to nine years in prison on Nov. 20. Cameroon Empowerment Association for Outreach Programs (CAMEF), an LGBT activist organization, claimed the charges were manipulated. (Photo: Reinnier KAZE/AFP/Getty Images)

Gay U.S. Ambassador of Dominican Republic Faces Backlash - Although the Dominican government accepted openly gay and married U.S. Ambassador James "Wally" Brewster’s appointment from President Obama in June, the Dominican people did not. Catholic Church leaders decried Brewster’s role as a sign of a lack of respect from Obama. Homosexuality is not technically illegal in the island nation. (Photo: ERIKA SANTELICES/AFP/Getty Images)

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Gay U.S. Ambassador of Dominican Republic Faces Backlash - Although the Dominican government accepted openly gay and married U.S. Ambassador James "Wally" Brewster’s appointment from President Obama in June, the Dominican people did not. Catholic Church leaders decried Brewster’s role as a sign of a lack of respect from Obama. Homosexuality is not technically illegal in the island nation. (Photo: ERIKA SANTELICES/AFP/Getty Images)