While the race by the parliament of Ghana to pass an anti-LGBTQ+ bill rages on, controversy on policy regulations around the rights of homosexuals in the United States of America, where the practice is largely legal is taking a new twist.
In a viral video sighted by GhanaWeb, a Ghanaian pastor, Neil Acheampong, has made a strong case against the introduction of a new policy that disregards the consent of parents in the transitioning of schoolchildren into various transgender groups.
Addressing his local town meeting in Maryland, the founder and head pastor of Family Life Chapel described the policy known as Policy 443 as disturbing.
“There is an issue that actually bothers me about it, and I want to just make that clear if there will be a review of the policy in regards to the fact that asking if my child could be able to be a transgender, and then a school teacher or somebody else in the system could help the child to make that decision without going through the parent is actually disturbing," he said.
According to the pastor, there is a need for the policy to be reviewed as it takes away the parents role as the first line of safety and defense for their child in such an important decision-making process.
“I think that policy needs to be looked at again because if my five-year-old is crossing a street, a parental instinct will be that I will never allow the child to cross the street by herself. Because the first line of safety for a child is a parent, and I believe we need to go back to those basic things,” he stated.
He noted how the consent of parents is sought for things that he described as simple, including the administration of pain medications for children in school, and thus questioned while parents are being taken out in the case of Policy 443.
"Every little thing has parental consent except this. So I am asking myself what is going on here. I see a door being opened for predators who are gradually creeping into the school system to destroy. Your good work will be destroyed, so I ask you to go back and look at policy 443.
“I will always pray for you and trust that you do a good work. But for this one thing, please reconsider and let’s change it. Because we are building a society that ought to thrive tomorrow and not to create kids who are confused,” Pastor Acheampong said.
His statement has earned him plaudits from individuals, including parents who are anti-LGBQ+ on social media.
Currently before the parliament of Ghana is a bill that seeks to legalize the activities of homosexuals in the country.
The bill, which has received wide public support, will, among other things, ascribe various punishments, including jail terms, for individuals practicing homosexuality or advocating for LGBTQ+ rights.
Meanwhile, watch the latest episode of People and Places on GhanaWeb TV below:
