Ghana parliament gives up on passing anti-LGBTQ bill this year
Repressive anti-LGBTQ bill would ban gay sex, oral sex by anyone, supporters of LGBTQ rights.
Despite homophobes’ promises of quick action, the parliament of Ghana has adjourned for the year without taking action on the bill formerly known as “the worst anti-LGBTQ bill ever”.
The Speaker of Parliament of Ghana, Alban Bagbin, and others proponents of the bill, such as member of parliament Sam George, earlier gave public assurances to the supporters of the bill that “it will be passed before Christmas” and “it will be passed before the end of the year”, the LGBTQ rights group Rightify Ghana reported .
But the parliament adjourned on Dec . 23 without setting a day to reconvene.
The same promises and the same failure to act also occurred in 2021 and 2022, Rightify Ghana stated. Only six of the bill’s 25 clauses have been discussed. Even among the six, some clauses were not completed, and those deleted are to be reintroduced under clauses not yet tackled, the group said.
Among many other provisions, the bill, as originally proposed, would increase to as many as five years Ghana’s current law providing up to a three-year sentence for same-sex intimacy. It would also criminalize gender reassignment surgery, crossdressing, oral sex, anal sex, sex toys, same-sex weddings, advocacy of LGBTQ rights and “public show of amorous relations” between people of the same sex.
I’m beginning to think the bill will ultimately fail because of the inability to get agreement on most of the clauses. I believe also that the political will is flagging because of the prospect of international repercussions.