The Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament has disclosed that the processes towards the passes of the anti-LGBTQI+ will be public.
As parliament reconvened today, Tuesday, October 26, 2021, the Speaker of Ghana’s Eight Parliament said no delays would be entertained.
He told legislators that the House would not tolerate any attempt to delay the passage of the bill.
Committee sitting, voting and debate on the bill he revealed would all be made public.
Mr. Alban Bagbin said common sense will inform the passage, and constitutionally guaranteed rights will be respected.
“So please let’s allow whether religious bodies civil society, academia or whatever to participate in the deliberations of this house. I know Ghanaians are expectant, and I know we have over 100 petitions before the legal affairs committee.”
“The sitting of the committee will be public, and the decision of this House will be public, we will want to know where each member of parliament stands,” the Speaker added.
“It is a law that will take into consideration the human rights and freedom that has been guaranteed under our constitution and it is a law that will take into consideration the richness of common sense, human decency morality fact logic. At the end of the day it is da law that will bring and transform this country into something else,” he added.
The proposed legislation aims to provide for proper human sexual rights and “Ghanaian family values.”
The bill also restricts LGBTQ+ communities and any activities related to them.
People advocating the rights of these sexual minorities will also be penalized. Campaigning for LGBTQ+ persons on social media or online platforms is prohibited under the bill.
Section 5(1) of the bill makes it a duty of a person to report under whose presence the offence has been committed. It states: “A person in whose presence an offence is committed under this act shall report the commission of the offence to a police officer, or in the absence of a police officer to a political leader, opinion leader or the customary authorities of the community in which the offence is committed.”
However, extrajudicial treatment has been prohibited under Section 22 of the bill.
Section 6 of the bill completely prohibits LGBTQ+ relations and any related activity.
The section also prohibits any surgery for sex or gender reassignment or any other procedure that can create a sexual category other than the sexual category of a person assigned at birth.
Any person who commits an offence under this section is entitled to imprisonment ranging from three to five years or a fine or both.
Section 12 of the bill completely prohibits any propaganda of, promotion of, and advocacy for activities prohibited under the proposed legislation.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana