• He says the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill he is leading has impacted the mental, physical health of his family
• Parliament is due to work on the Bill as the house reconvenes today
The lead promoter of the ‘Promotion of Proper Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021,’ Sam Nartey George, has spoken about the triple impact of his role in championing the bill on his young family.
According to the Ningo Prampram MP, whiles he is used to threats and other acts of sabotage due to his political trajectory, he is especially concerned about how his family is affected with recent events.
In an interview with Bridget Otoo on the One On One show that aired on October 25, 2021, Sam George said his kids were still trying to come to terms especially with the heightened security around them.
“It (championing the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill)comes at a huge cost. It comes at huge physical, spiritual cost, not just to me but to my family as well. And as I said to someone on another platform, when this bill is passed and we are done with it, maybe one day I will talk about the real cost of this bill to myself and to my family.
“I don’t have a problem with me, per se, when I decided to take up this battle I knew that it was going to come at a cost but to my family… there is a lot of psychological cost to it, to them; there is also the heightened need for security around them (especially) for a very young family,” he said.
He said as laid back as his family was and as tough-skinned politically as he has become, the rapid changes his family has had to make because of the Bill are things that weighed heavily on him.
“My family is just like me, very laid back, we like to step out and do our things as normal and the need for protocol around some of the things you did that you can’t do now.
“Increased security which is something the kids are trying to wrap their heads around and all of that, and its effect on them psychologically are some of the things that for me, are things that weigh heavily on me,” he added.
Parliament reconvenes today and the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill is one of the pieces of legislation to be worked on by lawmakers.
Promoters of the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill
The LGBTQ+ Bill before Parliament is titled: "The Promotion of Proper Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021." It is a Private Members' Bill sponsored by a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
The eight MPs who sponsored the Bill are Sam Nartey George (MP, Ningo Prampram), Emmanuel Bedzrah (MP, Ho West) Della Adjoa Sowah (MP, Kpando), John Ntim Fordjour (MP, Assin South) – the sole NPP MP sponsoring the Bill.
The remaining sponsors are Alhassan Sayibu Suhuyini (MP, Tamale North), Helen Adjoa Ntoso (MP, Krachi West), Rita Naa Odoley Sowah (MP, La Dadekotopon) and Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor (MP, South Dayi).
Ghana’s pro-gay collective
A group of 18 academicians and human rights defenders have voiced strong opposition to the bill before Parliament, which is seeking to extensively criminalize the activities of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, LGBTQ+.
The group submitted a memorandum to Parliament seeking that the bill be rejected because it was largely unconstitutional and infringed on basic human rights.
Members of Parliament behind the bill, led by Ningo Prampram MP Sam Nartey George, have rubbished the memorandum and asserted that the bill will be passed into law because it has the support of the wider Ghanaian populace.
Sam Nartey George, MP for Ningo Prampram