Via the always essential Page 1Q comes this distressing tale of how Nigerian theocrats are giving our wingers a real run for their money:

LAGOS, Nigeria -- Lawmakers in Nigeria are debating a bill that would ban same-sex marriage and any form of association among gays, even sharing a meal at a restaurant.

Few in Nigeria's deeply closeted gay community have publicly opposed the legislation, which proposes penalties of up to five years in prison and is widely expected to pass.

Engaging in homosexual acts is already illegal in Nigeria, with those convicted facing jail terms in the mainly Christian south and execution in the mainly Muslim north.

"This meeting, right here, would be illegal," said activist Bisi Alimi, stabbing the air with a French fry for emphasis as he sat at a table with three gay friends and a reporter.

Other activities prohibited under the proposed law include belonging to gay clubs or reading books, watching films or accessing Internet sites that "promote" homosexuality.

Alimi has been trying to drum up opposition to the legislation, but says Nigeria's gay community is too far underground and the subject too taboo.

This is akin to the Salvadoran law which allows the state to check women's uteruses for signs of abortion when they reenter the country. The Nigerians will have a hard time enforcing this, or rather, the methods by which they do will be horrifyingly Draconian.

I don't know what the proper response to this is. Boycott? Amnesty letters? I do think it's time for an airlift though, for all the world's most severely oppressed gays. Perhaps the HRC will get on that, seeing as how their choice for Senate in CT has been elected.