Ghana Adopts Legislation That Outlaws Identifying As LGBTQ+

Ghana Adopts Legislation That Outlaws Identifying As LGBTQ+

Ghana's parliament has passed a tough new bill that imposes a prison sentence of up to three years for anyone convicted of identifying as LGBTQ+. It also imposes a maximum five-year jail term for forming or funding LGBTQ+ groups.

A bill that would punish someone found guilty of identifying as LGBTQ+ with a maximum sentence of three years in prison was approved by Ghana's parliament on Wednesday.

Moreover, it sets a five-year maximum prison sentence for founding or supporting LGBTQ+ organizations. Promoting the rights of lesbians, gay men, and other non-conventional sexual or gender identities would be penalized.

The majority of legislators support the legislation, which was sponsored by a coalition of traditional Ghanaian, Muslim, and Christian leaders, according to the BBC. Being LGBTQ+ was at the time described as "alien to the Ghanaian culture and family value system and, as such, the citizens of this nation cannot accept it" in a joint statement from the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council and the Christian Council of Ghana.

The two main political parties in Ghana supported the bill, and it will only become operative if President Nana Akufo-Addo signs it into law. In the past, he declared that he would comply with the wishes of the majority of Ghanaians.

The bill suggests a maximum 10-year prison sentence for individuals engaged in LGBTQ+ advocacy campaigns targeted towards minors. Additionally, it exhorts people to report LGBTQ+ individuals to the appropriate authorities so that "necessary action" can be taken. According to MPs, the bill was written in reaction to the first LGBTQ+ community center in Ghana opening its doors in January 2021 in Accra, the country's capital.

However, in Ghana, homosexual sex is already illegal and punishable by a three-year prison term.