Sam George scoffs at the 15 top Ghanaians backing gay rights in Ghana
Legislator for Ningo-Prampram and one of the lead activists and sponsors of the anti-Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Intersex (LGBTQI) bill Sam George appears not to be worried about the latest memorandum of 15 renowned academicians promoting LGBTQI rights by challenging the legalization of the anti-LGBTQI bill which seeks to outrightly criminalize their[LGBTQI+] activities in Ghana.
He has punched holes into their memorandum stating that it lacked merit and is a slap in the face of Ghana’s constitution.
Mr George laughed off the memorandum, wondering if it can stand the test of parliamentary scrutiny in terms of substance.
Also, he indicated that the Memorandum will not be accepted by the Ghanaian populace coming on the back of an Afrobarometer survey released by the Centre for Democratic Development revealing that only seven (7) per cent of Ghanaians are tolerant of persons of same-sex relationships.
“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 woefully,” he posited.
Stressing on the arguments of proponents of the bill, Mr George reiterated that “the Bill is premised on the fact that sexual preference is not a human right in the 1992 constitution.”
“The constitution stipulates 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.”
Some of the 15 signatories to the Memorandum that support LGBTQI rights are Professor Kofi Gyimah-Boadi, Dr Rose Kutin-Mensah and Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh and their action is a response to Parliament’s call for written memos on the anti-LGBTQI Bill.
The group is of the view that the Bill will flout the basic tenets of the constitution and undermine the dignity of LGBTQI Ghanaians.
They cited examples indicating the fact that, in countries that practice true democracy, supporters and opponents of every conceivable cause are given the freedom to associate and express their views.
According to the bill known as the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021, people of the same sex who engage in sexual activity could spend up to 10 years in jail.
Support for the LGBTQ+ community would also be criminal according to sections of the sections as well.
The said bill has currently been put before the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs ahead of Parliament’s resumption later in October.
By: Stella Annan | myactiveonline.com Twitter @activetvgh
