Same sex marriage

Tuilaepa described same sex marriage as an abomination and a "Sodom and Gomorrah practice" at his weekly media conference on Friday.

He said there is no true Christian country in the world which would allow it and it would not be allowed in Samoa as long as it remained a Christian country.

Tuilaepa and his Human Rights Protection Party changed the country's constitution earlier this year to formally make Samoa a Christian state.

While the United Nations strongly reject the claim, Lealailepule is adamant that leaders of the government, churches and villages must stay alert.
 
Speaking to the Samoa Observer, he said the United Nations has a hidden agenda, masked through programmes delivered by UN Women to promote equality.
 
“They are keen on promoting gender equality yet they are also secretly promoting something that Samoa will never be a part of which is same sex marriage,” he said.  
 

But Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he still believes Labor will support legislation in Parliament to establish the nation-wide vote.

Labor and the Greens have voiced concerns about the cost of the plebiscite, as well as the prospect of a potentially divisive public debate on the issue.

The bill legalising same-sex marriage passed its final reading in Parliament in April, 2013, and came into effect on 19 August, 2013.

His comments come in response to the United Nations new campaign calling for action on homophobia and transphobia in the Pacific Islands.

Puna says the Cook Islands shouldn’t just follow what the UN or the international community is doing.

“We have our own community here, and we need to be guided by our own people as to what we want to do in response to those pressures.”

The UN is hoping governments in the Pacific will adopt active measures to make sure people’s perception of LGBTIs change, for example by working closely with schools and health care facilities.