Sri Lanka rejects appeals for gay marriage
By Sam Rigby
The Sri Lankan government has turned down requests to legalise gay marriage.
Basil Rajapaksa, Economic Affairs Minister, explained that the British government had put forward the request as part of the conditions to receive aid, the Colombo Gazette reports.
However, Rajapaksa told the media that there are no plans to pass equal marriage legislation.
Same-sex relations are still illegal and punishable with jail time in Sri Lanka, while the country has banned LGBT activism.
Same-sex relations remain illegal in 41 of the 53 nations in the Commonwealth.
Meanwhile, the legalisation of gay sex in Northern Cyprus earlier this year resulted in Europe becoming the third continent to free itself of such laws.
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