The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo-Prampram, Sam Nartey George, has reacted to calls by some notable Ghanaians, including Prof Takyiwaa Manuh and Prof Audrey Gadzekpo, for the Promotion of Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill (anti-gay bill) not to be approved into law.
Speaking in an interview on Adom FM, on Thursday, February 29, 2024, Sam George, who is one of the sponsors of the anti-gay bill, could not comprehend why the two academics and some other Ghanaians wanted the bill to be scrapped.
He said that the people against the anti-gay bill are saying that there are already existing laws on LGBT+ activities which means that there is nothing wrong with the bill.
The MP went on to allege that the only reason these persons are against the bill is that, they have been paid by LGBT+ groups to advocate against it.
“Do you realise the lack of intelligence and lack of logic in that argument? If all of the portions of the bill are in already existing laws, which is actually a fact, why are the same people running around now saying that the act must be killed because it infringes on human rights?
“Why have they not gone to court to challenge all the other existing laws? Let me tell you something, Prof Audrey Gadzekpo, Takyiwaa Manuh, CDD, all of them, they are doing this because of money.
He reiterated, “They are taking money to do this. I’m putting it on record, that they are all being funded by pro-LGBTQ groups. They are taking money to do the advocacy that they are doing”.
The Parliament of Ghana on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, passed the Promotion of Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, widely known as the anti-LGBT+ bill.
The bill, currently awaiting presidential assent, proscribes lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activities and criminalizes their promotion, advocacy, and funding.
Persons caught in these acts will be subjected to a six-month to three-year jail term, with promoters and sponsors facing a three to five-year jail term.
The bill will now require presidential assent to come into force within 7 days.
However, if President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo refuses to assent to the bill, parliament by a 2/3 majority vote can approve it into law.
Emerita Prof. Takyiwaa Manuh and Prof Audrey Gadzekpo have all argued that the bill should not be passed into law because there are already existing laws prohibiting such activities in Ghana.
“We live in a country that is governed by the rule of law; we live under a constitution. No law, no Act that is passed can be inconsistent with the Constitution. Therefore, if there are violations of the Constitution, especially as regards the rights and freedoms that are guaranteed to all Ghanaians, the Constitution does not begin to differentiate according to your religion or identity. This law is unnecessary; we already have provisions in our laws that govern all matters,” Prof Manuh is quoted to have said in an interview on Starr News.
Prof Audrey Gadzekpo has also accused Sam George of fighting for the anti-gay bill to be passed into law for political benefits.
“I am telling you that they have passed it not for any reason but for political reasons. Mr. Sam George, the chief proponent of the bill, in 2015, when his candidate John Mahama was accused of having a friend who was a homosexual sponsoring him, Sam George is on record saying that the constitution protects those rights,” citinewsroom.com quoted her to have said.
Listen to the MP’s remarks in the clip below:
