UK Parliament Invites Ghana MPs Over Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill
The Chairman of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Ghana’s Parliament, Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, has disclosed that UK Parliament has invited members of the committee to a meeting over the anti-gay bill.
He said the members of the committee will leave Kotoka International Airport (KIA) today, Sunday, June 12, 2022, and meet the UK Parliament on Monday, June 13, 2022.
“The invitation came to the Speaker and the Speaker forwarded it to the Committee. Four members of the committee including myself and the ranking member will be attending this important meeting. We take off on Sunday, we were supposed to have gone today but because of flight arrangement we will go on Sunday so we walk into the meeting Monday morning and by Wednesday we are done,” he told said in an interview.
This comes after some MPs want to criminalise the promotion of LGBTQ+ rights, a move that comes after a community centre for sexual minorities was shut down following strong opposition from politicians and church organisations.
The lawmaker for Ningo-Prampram, Sam George from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) said he and seven other MPs hoped their private members’ bill to ban LGBTQ+ advocacy would be passed.
The anti-LGBTQI+ bill seeks to criminalise the activities of homosexuals in Ghana, and even seeks to criminalise any form of advocacy in support of homosexuals.
The bill also threatens the very existence of LGBTQI people, meaning that they are perpetually put in a position where they are subjected to physical and psychological violence endorsed by the state.
It also compels Ghanaians to police gender and sexuality in their homes, workplaces, and everyday lives.