Relevant previous thread about Uganda
Ghana passes bill making identifying as LGBTQ+ illegal
Lawmakers approve a tough new bill, but rights groups say it threatens basic freedoms.www.bbc.co.uk
Ghana's parliament has passed a tough new bill that imposes a prison sentence of up to three years for anyone convicted of identifying as LGBTQ+.
It also imposes a maximum five-year jail term for forming or funding LGBTQ+ groups.
Lawmakers heckled down attempts to replace prison sentences with community service and counselling.
It is the latest sign of growing opposition to LGBTQ+ rights in the conservative West African nation.
The bill, which had the backing of Ghana's two major political parties, will come into effect only if President Nana Akufo-Addo signs it into law.
President Nana Akufo-Addo
He previously said that he would do so if the majority of Ghanaians want him to.
Gay sex is already against the law in Ghana - it carries a three-year prison sentence.
The bill proposes a jail term of up to 10 years for anyone involved in LGBTQ+ advocacy campaigns aimed at children
It also encourages the public to report members of the LGBTQ+ community to authorities for 'necessary action'.
MPs said the bill was drafted in response to the opening of Ghana's first LGBTQ+ community centre in the capital, Accra, in January 2021.
Police shut the centre following public protests, and pressure from religious bodies and traditional leaders in the largely Christian nation.
At the time, the Christian Council of Ghana and the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council said in a joint statement that being LGBTQ+ was 'alien to the Ghanaian culture and family value system and, as such, the citizens of this nation cannot accept it'.
The bill approved by lawmakers is a watered-down version of an earlier draught - for instance, jail terms have been shortened and a controversial clause on conversion therapy has been removed.
they dont want to end up like america, good for them
Probably the same guys who get offended by "Sherfront"
Democracy Strikes Again!
I think it’s mainly republicans (like in this thread) who have always stigmatized homosexuality. It’s nothing new. Unfortunately, there will always be people like this.Ghana ghana Ghana.
Funny how westerners are creaming themselves over this atrocity.
This is true. There are lots of conservatives (or so called conservatives anyways) who would be perfectly fine with these kinds of laws on the booksWestern religious influences planted the seeds and funded the creation of this legislation, which is prohibitively expensive.
These are people who absolutely want laws like this in the west but know they're out of reach.
I'm not sure if you hate gay people more than you hate black people and women in general, where do you stand on these laws?
This is true. There are lots of conservatives (or so called conservatives anyways) who would be perfectly fine with these kinds of laws on the books
They are complete and utter frauds . They support personhood at fertilization (which would clearly mean that IVF would be illegal) and now they are all saying that they support IVF… it’s so laughable.It's been a trip watching them try and walk back the IVF complications.
And they still can't help themselves, describing the urgent need to "breed".
They are complete and utter frauds . They support personhood at fertilization (which would clearly mean that IVF would be illegal) and now they are all saying that they support IVF… it’s so laughable.
Some GOP politicians (I think) actually believe this stuff but others clearly don’t and just use issues like this for cynical , self preserving reasonsI'm not sure the EXTREME zealots, the true believers, are walking this back.
Just the politicians who are using them and believe nothing.
Sounds like something a would say. Disgusted and offended aren't the same thing Daisy.Probably the same guys who get offended by "Sherfront"
The problem is socially progressive places are plutocracies that will steer their society more and more towards corporatism and in the long run the affordability of the everyman will take a back seat.Even the most cursory of glances at a map shows that socially progressive nations are the most happy and prosperous ones. Alas, too many idiots would rather be destitute than live in a tolerant society.