Bosome Freho MP Calls for Urgent Passage of Anti-LGBTQ Bill, Cites Public Support
Gladson Afriyie
Journalist
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Member of Parliament for Bosome Freho, Hon Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, has urged Parliament to pass the anti-LGBTQ bill immediately under a certificate of urgency, saying the House has both the numbers and public backing to do so.
Speaking during the Second Reading of the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill on the floor of Parliament, Hon Ayeh commended the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee for presenting the bill and praised its sponsors for their consistency.
“I commend the sponsors for the resilience. This bill is a national bill. It is the bill that many Ghanaians have supported,” he told the House.
Hon Ayeh argued that the bill was a key campaign issue for MPs and gave religious leaders grounds to criticize the previous administration. He said there was confusion over whether the last Parliament transmitted the bill to the presidency for assent, but stressed that the process is now clear.
“We have a welcoming majority that can even take a day to pass this bill,” he said. “Just like we passed the Gold Board bill, just like we did the E-Levy bill with a certificate of urgency, it is important that we add some urgency to this LGBTQ bill so that we can pass it today, if possible, for the President to assent to it tomorrow.”
The Bosome Freho legislator maintained that there is bipartisan agreement on the substance of the bill. The only point of difference, he said, is the pace of passage. “The minority is saying that the speed should be much more accelerated so that we can pass this bill today. We are ready to sit and go through it clause by clause now. We don’t want to defer this bill for any day.”
Hon Ayeh cited broad religious support for the legislation, mentioning the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Pentecost, the clergy, and charismatic churches as groups ready for the bill to become law.
“We can stay overnight just like we stayed overnight for the Gold Board bill. You have the numbers, the overwhelming numbers, to pass the bill now,” he told the Majority.
The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill seeks to criminalize LGBTQ activities, advocacy, and funding. It was reintroduced in the current Parliament after the previous version was not assented to.
