The Minority Caucus in Parliament has vowed to halt any further delay in the approval of the anti-gay bill.
The bill which promotes human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values was ‘arrested last week’ by the Deputy Majority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin.
The Speaker, Alban S.K. Bagbin, was about to allow for the procedural motion on the third reading of the bill to be moved and seconded.
But the Deputy Majority Leader Mr. Afenyo-Markin intervened.
He moved that “the bill passes through a second Consideration in respect of Clause 4.”
The Clause 4 proposes a minimum custodial sentence of six months and a maximum of three years for people who find themselves in the activity of LGBTQ+, but he wants the House to proffer a community service over jail term.
Quoting Order 171(1) of the Standing Orders, Afenyo-Markin maintained that the punitive action prescribed was injurious to reformation of LGBTQ+ practitioners.
“The issue before us is behavioural, and it is my humble view that in dealing with behavioural matters, incarceration is not the solution.”
He said “to jail a person for his/her sexuality will not be the solution in maintaining our Ghanaian family values and ensuring proper human sexual rights.”
The House was therefore compelled to continue with the amendment of about thirteen of the clauses in the bill today [Wednesday, February 21].
Speaking on the matter, Minority Chief Whip Governs Agbodza admonished Afenyo-Markin to complete any necessary consultations regarding his proposed amendments before Wednesday.
“We should also be clear in our minds that we will not unduly always find a reason to postpone the progress of this bill to another day. Because, as we said the other day, everything that he [Afenyo-Markin] has raised in his proposal, he took about an hour here speaking about it, but he keeps giving reasons why we cannot deal with it. So we are giving him ample time to do the consultation because there will be no more filibustering after Wednesday.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana