AsaaseCulturePolitics

Mpraeso MP: Majority and Minority in Parliament support anti-gay bill

Davis Opoku says MPs’ duty to speak “the minds of our people” is the reason why the bill has the support of both sides of Parliament

Davis Ansah Opoku, the MP for Mpraeso, has said lawmakers will debate and vote on the anti-LGBTQI Bill depending on the position of their constituents.

He said MPs speak “the minds of our people” and this is why the bill has the support of both sides of the aisle in Parliament.

“To be a Member of Parliament is not what you believe in. It’s what your people think. You speak the minds of your people,” Opoku said to buttress the point that MPs will vote according to what most Ghanaians think about the bill.

However, he said the fact that a majority of the population is against the life choices and sexual habits of LGBTQI Ghanaians does not mean gay people should not be heard so that their views can possibly be incorporated in the bill.

“I think that the Speaker should limit himself to the chair. Even before the debate starts, taking sides and positions doesn’t really help. As we speak, there has not been any attempt by any MP to try and legalise homosexuality in the country,” Opoku told Asaase News.

Be bold

He added: “What is before Parliament is a bill that seeks to stop the promotion of the practice. It seems to be enjoying support from both sides.

“It’s something that we need to do but while doing that we need to look at the constitution as a whole because everybody has rights. We should make sure that as lawmakers any decision we take does not go contrary to the constitution.”

For his part, the political and social commentator Owula Mangortey said he disagreed with the Mpraeso MP’s assertion, and that lawmakers who are against the bill should be bold and say so.

“We have all shades of people and opinions in society. The world is evolving,” said Mangortey. “Let’s have a way to tolerate and accept others who are different from us.

“I’m against the idea that people are being muscled from speaking against it. Are people not sleeping with other people’s wives and husbands?

“If you’re an MP and believe that you side with the LGBTQI community, come out and vote openly,” Mangortey urged.

Background 

Welcoming MPs back from recess to commence the third meeting of the first session of the eighth parliament on Tuesday (26 October), Bagbin gave his assurance that all stakeholders will be given an opportunity to share their opinion on the bill.

“The Parliament of Ghana is capable of handling the situation. I assure citizens of this country that we’ll create an enabling environment for all to put across their views. At the end of the day, the processes of the House will determine the outcome,” Bagbin said.

“And when that is done, I’m convinced that the law that will come out of this will protect the culture and values of our people and the Ghanaian identity.

“The law agrees that we also take into consideration the human rights and freedoms that have been guaranteed under our constitution and it’s a law that takes into consideration the richness of the common sense, human decency and morality, fact and logic. And at the end of the day it’s a law that will … transform this country into something else,” he said.

“Let’s allow all stakeholders to participate in the deliberations of this House.”

Bagbin added: “I know Ghanaians are expectant and I know we’ve over 100 petitions before the committee on constitutional, legal and parliamentary affairs. It’s not only Africa, but the whole world is looking for the outcome of this bill, so we’ll not just allow people to come and delay the process.

“We’ll make the process public and the decision of this House will be public. We’ll want to know where each Member of Parliament stands.”

Violation of human rights

A group of 18 prominent Ghanaian citizens has rejected the anti-gay bill in Parliament, saying it constitutes an “impermissible invasion of the inviolability and human dignity” of the LGBTQI community.

The first reading of the anti-LGBTQI Bill took place on 2 August 2021 in Parliament, and its consideration is expected to resume in November.

It was originally put forward by six parliamentarians, led by the opposition MP Sam George. The new law seeks to criminalise lesbianism and sex between men in Ghana.

The group of prominent citizens, led by the renowned legal practitioner Akoto Ampaw, argues that the anti-LGBTQI Bill “violates all the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the 1992 constitution”. The group says that, if passed into law, the proposed legislation will send Ghana into a dark age of lawlessness.

“The bill violates virtually all the key fundamental freedoms guaranteed under the constitution, namely the right to freedom of speech and expression, the right to assemble, freedom of association and the right to organise, the right to freedom from discrimination and the right to human dignity,” Ampaw said at a press conference on 4 October.

Asaase Radio 99.5 – tune in or log on to broadcasts online
99.5 in Accra, 90.7 in Ho, 98.5 in Kumasi, 99.7 in Tamale, 89.5 in Tarkwa, and 106.9 in Walewale
Follow us on Twitter: @asaaseradio995
#AsaaseRadio
#TheVoiceofOurLand

Show More

Related Articles

Back to top button

Adblock Detected

ALLOW OUR ADS