37th African Country to Ban Gays

Chad is poised to pass a new law banning homosexuality with a punishment of up to 20 years in prison. The government ministers have signed on, but it has yet to be ratified by the president. It would make Chad the 37th country in Africa to enact such a ban. The ministers claim the law works to “protect the family and to comply with Chadian society." The addition of the ban on gays is part of a larger overhaul of the penal code, which includes the abolition of the death penalty.