Sam George, the Ningo-Prampram MP and one of the Bill’s sponsors is unconcerned by the memorandum from 15 prominent legal, academicians, and activists opposing the legislation that aims to completely criminalize LGBTQI activities in Ghana.
Mr George claimed that the memo, which said that the law was a slap in the face to Ghana’s constitution and democracy, lacked validity.
“I just wonder if it can stand the test of parliamentary scrutiny in terms of its substance,” he remarked.
Following the publication of an Afrobarometer study by the Centre for Democratic Development, which revealed that just 7% of Ghanaians are tolerant of people in same-sex relationships, Mr. George also said that the reasons in the memo from the 15 people would not be accepted by the public.
“I just wonder if it will pass the test of Ghana’s societal moral values and judgment when it is subjected to that test. “It will fail miserably,” said the MP.
Mr. George emphasized, reiterating the arguments of the Bill’s supporters, that “the Bill is premised on the fact that sexual preference is not a human right in the 1992 constitution.”
“The constitution is clear that your rights are not absolute… there are limits to the rights and freedoms, and that is what they [critics of the Bill] fail to understand.”
Professor Kofi Gyimah-Boadi, Dr. Rose Kutin-Mensah, Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh, Professor Audrey Gadzekpo, Professor Kwame KariKari, Akoto Ampaw, and Professor Raymond Atuguba signed the letter in response to Parliament’s request for written memos on the anti-LGBTQI Bill.
They are concerned that the Bill will flout basic constitutional principles and undermine the dignity of LGBTQI Ghanaians.
They maintained that supporters and opponents of any possible cause had the right to associate and express their opinions in nations that practice genuine democracy.
The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021 stipulates that people of the same sex who engage in sexual activity face up to ten years in prison.
Support for the LGBTQ+ community would be criminalized as well.
The Bill is presently before the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs in preparation for the resumption of Parliament later this month.
Read Also: Anti-LGBTQI+ Bill encourages witch-hunting, which has no place in the 21st century — Audrey Gadzekpo
