• She indicated that, the bill betrays the teachings of Christ
• She noted, homosexuals will be treated in a way that does not look like the quality of Christ if the bill is passed
Professor Akosua Adomako Ampofo, a renowned Ghanaian academic has stated that the current anti-LGBTQ bill before Parliament does not portray anything Christ.
To her, the bill is a complete betrayal of the teachings of Christ. A proper sexual rights and Ghanaian family values bill does not in any way show God’s teachings of compassion, redemption and grace.
Prof Akosua Ampofo indicated, members of the LGBTQ+ community will be treated in a way that does not resemble the spirit and quality of Christ if the anti-LGBTQ+ bill is passed and therefore the bill needs to be fine-tuned to serve all intended purposes.
She noted, the bill will create more problems within the Ghanaian society if an attempt is made by sponsors of the bill to legislate what she terms as a subject of morality.
“When I read that bill, from beginning to end, and the framers claim that the bill is an amalgamation of Christians and para Christian bodies, I struggled to find Christ in that bill. If they have not said that they were Christians, I wouldn’t have held this perspective.”
“It is very dangerous if we want to legislate on morality. If two consenting adults do something that does not affect me, I’m not sure how we want to criminalize that. The Bible says hate is like murder, so if someone is going to hate me, are we going to legislate that? So, it’s a very dangerous and slippery slope if we want to legislate morality,” Professor Akosua Adomako Ampofo submitted on Citi TV’s Point of View show.
She further indicated that, she disagrees with the position of proponents of the anti-LGBTQ+ bill including the Church, warning that, the country will be treading on dangerous grounds should the Bill be passed into law as demanded.
“If we want to legislate same-sex marriage, that’s a different thing. But if we are legislating on people’s behaviour in this bill like cross-dressing people of the same sex showing affection in public… we are going to be judges. So, this is a dangerous road to travel on. I would have thought that, before this bill goes to Parliament, we would have had some national conversation on what the real issues that are troubling to us are.”
Some 18 renowned legal, academic and civil society professionals filled a memorandum challenging the anti-gay legislation submitted to Parliament.
In the memorandum, they contend that the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021, which seeks to criminalise LGBTQ+ and adjacent activities, is an “impermissible invasion of the inviolability of human dignity.”
To push the anti-LGBTQ+ will be to challenge Ghana’s constitution and democracy, they also argued in the 18-page document.
The anti-LGBTQ+ bill which is currently before Parliament prescribes that people of the same sex who engage in sexual activity could spend up to 10 years in jail.
Support for the LGBTQ+ community would also be criminalised.
Professor Akosua Adomako Ampofo