In Washington, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs also praised the move, urging an end to "the persecution and criminalization" of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Gibbs is right to say that, but the USA also has a long way to go in marriage equality and sexual freedom.
Malawi is among 37 African countries with anti-gay laws.
In Senegal, police have rounded up men suspected of being homosexual and beaten them, and a mob last year pulled the corpse of a gay man from his grave, spat on it and dumped it at the home of his elderly parents.
In Zimbabwe this month, two employees of a gay organization spent six days in jail on allegations of possessing indecent material and insulting President Robert Mugabe, an outspoken critic of homosexuality.
In Uganda, a proposed law would impose the death penalty for some gays.
Even in South Africa, the only African country that recognizes gay rights, lesbians have been gang-raped.
It is all atrocious. People should be allowed to love others and marry others without others deciding for them, and they should be protected from rape and assault.
