Supporters and opponents of Ghana's new anti-LGBT bill faced off parliament on Wednday the first public heargs to the proposed legislatn that would make a crime to be gay, bisexual or transgenr.
Contents:
- EXPLAER: WHAT MAK GHANA’S ANTI-GAY BILL SO EXTREME?
- LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?
- WHO IS JOSEPH ZIEGLER, THE GAY IRS WHISTLEBLOWER HUNTER BIN PROBE?
- JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU
- GAY SEX IS BANNED - SO GHANAIANS DANCE AGAST HOMOPHOBIA
- GAY ACTIVISTS GHANA MAND RELEASE OF 21 PEOPLE ARRTED AT LGBTQI NFERENCE
- IDRIS ELBA AND NAOMI CAMPBELL SIGN LETTER BACKG GAY RIGHTS GHANA
- THE NEW ANTI-GAY BILL PROPOSED GHANA WILL DTROY LIV
EXPLAER: WHAT MAK GHANA’S ANTI-GAY BILL SO EXTREME?
Maxe Angel Opoku has found a new dience for her mic wh songs opposg a proposed law that would make illegal to intify as gay, transgenr or queer. * gay musicians in ghana *
Passg the Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Fay Valu bill would further rce eedoms a untry where gay sex is already punishable wh up to three years jail, crics and activists Odoi, an amic rearcher, filed a lawsu on July 7 challengg the bill's nstutnaly, sayg would impact donor aid and other forms of fancial support. Ghana's Supreme Court on Wednday led her arguments were not sufficiently nvcg to grant an lg cleared the way for the bill, one of the harsht towards the LGBTQ muny Ai, to go through a fal stage of parliamentary approval before beg signed to May, Uganda's Print Yoweri Meveni signed one of the world's tought anti-LGBTQ laws, which spelled out the ath penalty for "aggravated homosexualy"'s bill, backed by relig and tradnal lears, clus jail sentenc of up to 10 years for advotg for LGBTQ rights. If passed s current form, rights groups say uld spark a wch-hunt of sexual mori, advocy groups and “alli”, forcg the public to report on their are some of the ma measur, wh excerpts om the bill self:A clampdown on LGBTQ+ intyThe law would crimalise, wh up to five years prison, intifyg as a LGBTQ+ person, havg a gay relatnship or terurse.
(A) person ms an offence if the person holds out as a lbian, a gay, a transgenr, a transsexual, a queer, a pansexual, an ally ….
A duty to reportAnyone ma aware of gay acts who fails to report them uld also be crimalised.
LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?
Inially, there were accatns that Ziegler, as a gay Democrat, was biased toward Bin, but now some Republins say his inty shows he's fair and reliable sayg the IRS was hampered the vtigatn. * gay musicians in ghana *
Shone Apong, a paralegal and advote for mori Ghana, says the bill is an attack on the existence of anyone believed to be gay or queer.
WHO IS JOSEPH ZIEGLER, THE GAY IRS WHISTLEBLOWER HUNTER BIN PROBE?
Kev Maxen, an associate strength ach wh the Jacksonville Jaguars, has bee the first male ach a major U.S.-based profsnal league to e out as gay. * gay musicians in ghana *
It was put forward by a cross-party group of MPs led by Sam Gee, an opposn MP and one of the most proment anti-gay figur parliament. Both are active Ai and other parts of the world fightg agast abortn rights and gay rights.
AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe Saturday ProfileMaxe Angel Opoku has found a new dience for her mic wh songs opposg a proposed law that would make illegal to intify as gay, transgenr or Kokoroko for The New York TimACCRA, Ghana — When Maxe Angel Opoku was still an upstart mician, relatively unknown and stgglg to stand out Ghana’s petive mic scene, she sang about love, romance and beg, Augt 2021, lawmakers the untry’s Parliament troduced a bill that would imprison people who intify as transgenr, as Ms.
JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU
Gay sex may be illegal Ghana - dancg isn't. So rappers and sgers are g mic vios to embrace LGBT+ life and fight homophobia this nservative Wt Ain natn. * gay musicians in ghana *
”The subject of the song is the “Promotn of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Fay Valu Bill, ” which, if passed, would make intifyg as gay, transgenr or queer a crime punishable wh a maximum prison sentence of five Ghana’s only openly transgenr mician, Ms. Opoku, who is known on stage as Angel Maxe, is one of the most visible targets of the proposed legislatn a untry where the gay and transgenr muny is largely closeted. “This is the only way my voice n reach the policians, the print, the homophob, the layperson.
”Same-sex sexual acts are already crimalized Ghana, part bee of a Brish lonial-era law, but is currently not a crime to publicly intify as gay, transgenr or rponse to the proposed legislatn, Ms. Joshua, seekg to “st the gay out.
Francis Kokoroko for The New York TimEven before the threat of prison the impendg legislatn, to be openly gay or transgenr Ghana was extraordarily risky, wh those intifyg — or perceived to be — as such facg acts of vlence om both strangers and their own fai.
GAY SEX IS BANNED - SO GHANAIANS DANCE AGAST HOMOPHOBIA
It also has broad popular support a untry where a 2019 survey found that 93 percent of Ghanaians would dislike havg a homosexual bill has also galvanized outspoken opposn om a small but fluential aln of lol amics, lawyers and rights month the speaker of Parliament, who has prevly exprsed support for the legislatn, said was a prry and would be passed before the next electns part to the L. Image source, Getty ImagIn the latt sign of risg homophobia different Ain untri, a Kenyan opposn MP is leadg a mpaign for parliament to further crimalise the untry's small LGBTQ muny. Gee Peter Kaluma's move after neighbourg Uganda adopted a tough new anti-gay law, rejectg threats by US Print Joe Bin to impose sanctns and travel rtrictns on "anyone volved ser human rights ab".
GAY ACTIVISTS GHANA MAND RELEASE OF 21 PEOPLE ARRTED AT LGBTQI NFERENCE
"We want to prohib everythg to do wh homosexualy, " Mr Kaluma tells me, addg that his bill will be much broar than the legislatn passed by Uganda's parliament and approved by Print Yoweri Meveni May. The Ugandan law is regard as one of the harsht anti-LGBTQ laws the propos life imprisonment for anyone nvicted of homosexualy, and the ath penalty for so-lled aggravated s, which clu havg gay sex wh someone below the age of 18 or where someone be fected wh a life-long illns such as the other si of the ntent, MPs Ghana earlier this month unanimoly voted favour of amendments to the untry's anti-gay legislatn, phg closer to beg enacted to law. Though ls harsh than Uganda's new law, the Promotn of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Fay Valu Bill propos a three-year prison sentence for anyone who intifi as LGBTQ and a 10-year sentence for anyone who promot homosexualy.
"The bill will propose a total ban on what the Wt lls sex-reassignment prcriptns and procr, and prohib all activi that promote homosexualy, terms of... Gay paras, drag shows, wearg the lours, the flags, the emblems of the LGBTQ group, " Mr Kaluma says.
Gay sex is already illegal Kenya, but the ernment n also be tolerant of gay people - for example, has given asylum to people om other Ain untri, cludg Uganda, who faced persecutn their home untri bee of their sexual orientatn.
IDRIS ELBA AND NAOMI CAMPBELL SIGN LETTER BACKG GAY RIGHTS GHANA
Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Many Kenyans believe that gay rights are agast their relign - whether Christian or MlimAlthough the meetg Uganda was billed as an attempt to protect the "sovereignty" of Ain stat, was actually -sponsored by an Amerin Christian right-wg anisatn, Fay Watch Internatnal (FWI) Kapya Kaoma, a Zambian prit the Anglin Church and an amic at Boston Universy the US, says Ain untri are beg targeted by FWI and siar US-based anisatns, and that the impact of s lobbyg has been "horrible and humane" parts of Ai, fuellg what he lls "ant homophobia".
THE NEW ANTI-GAY BILL PROPOSED GHANA WILL DTROY LIV
"It is one thg to say: 'I don't agree wh you beg gay', but we didn't have the ant one, where policians now are sayg: 'You go to jail for life, you go to jail for talkg about beg gay, you go to jail bee you're livg wh your fellow woman', " Dr Kaoma says. FWI's Mormon founr Sharon Slater ni that the group promot anti-gay laws Ai.
She c a Uned Natns Populatn Fund (UNFPA) manual for out-of-school youths east and southern Ai, sayg promot homosexualy and is too explic. "It sensis children to sex, " she Slater also quot om the manual, cludg l which say that facilators of lsons should have "a ntral, acceptg attu towards homosexualy".