Parliament Working On Law To Stop LGBTQI Activities
Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, says urgent actions are being taken to pass a stringent law to nib the activities of LGBTQI+ and other groups in the bud in Ghana.
According to him, stakeholder consultations are also ongoing, and the results will feed into a Bill that will eventually be passed into law by the 8th Parliament.
Responding to a petition sent by one Emmanuel Abankwah Kesse, a political activist in the Eastern Region, appealing to Parliament to amend our human rights law to fight activities of LGBTQI+ and their presence in Ghana, the Speaker, in a letter dated May 15, 2021, said he appreciated the concerns raised by the petitioner.
He further stated that the phenomenon should not be encouraged or accepted by our society due to its eventual negative impact on society.
“Urgent actions are being taken to pass a law to eventually nib the activities of these groups in the bud. Stakeholder consultations are ongoing and the results will feed into a Bill that will eventually be passed into law by Parliament,” part of his response read.
Following the opening of an LGBTQI+ office in Accra early this year, a plethora of discussions over the legitimacy of the group has dominated the media.
The development was condemned by many as a subtle enforcement of the group’s activities which they say flies in the face of the country’s laws, culture and beliefs.
The police together with the landlord on February 24 stormed and locked the LGBTQ office at Ashongman in Accra in the wake of public discourse over their operations.
Pro-gay rights activists in the country have argued that the law does not explicitly outlaw the act aside from its criminalisation of unnatural carnal knowledge adding that government must protect their interests as citizens.
Meanwhile, anti-gay rights advocates, National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Value and religious factions such as the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC), National Peace Council, National Chief Imam have further advanced arguments for the government to dispel the ambiguity surrounding the laws on sexuality.
The persistent banter between the two schools of thoughts came to a halt when President Akufo-Addo openly declared his stance on the matter.
He said that legislation of same-sex marriage to become lawful is not a matter he will ever consider.
“I have said it before, and let me stress it again, that it will not be under the Presidency of Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo that same-sex marriage will be legal,” he stated.
He made these comments at the installation of the 2nd Archbishop of the Anglican Church held in Asante Mampong on Saturday, February 27, 2021.
Mr Bagbin also followed suit when he told the Australian High Commissioner to Ghana, Gregory Andrews that Ghana will never accept the LGBTQI+ practices.
Describing the group’s activities as an abomination, the Speaker said Parliament will not pass any legislation that will infringe on people’s human rights, however, he noted that the House will not legalise homosexuality. –myjoyonline
