The argument to legalise LGBT+ was a non-starter – Speaker Bagbin

“Frankly, the argument to legalise LGBT was a non-starter in the first place,” Speaker of Parliament Alban S. K. Bagbin has said following the passage of the anti-gay bill by Parliament on Wednesday, 28 February 2024.

According to the Speaker, “Africans have lost too much of our values to slave trade and colonialism already.”

In his view, this generation has a divine mandate to preserve the remnants of Africa’s culture and work toward restoring the lost portions.

In a Facebook post, the speaker thanked the members of the Parliament of Ghana for upholding the wishes of Ghanaians to protect the sanity of marriage and family values.

Speaker Bagbin assured that Parliament will ensure President Nana Akufo-Addo assents to the bill and bring closure to the matter.

The bill criminalises LGBT+ activities and prohibits their promotion, advocacy, and funding.

Under the bill, individuals engaged in such activities face a jail term ranging from six months to three years, while promoters and sponsors could be sentenced to three to five years.

Meanwhile, the United States and UNAIDS have cautioned that Ghana stands to suffer in its development efforts if the bill is passed into law.