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Opinions of Friday, 1 February 2013

Columnist: Sarpong, Justice

Oye Lithur Is 100% Right On The Homosexual Issue

Sarpong, Justice

Once again, the homosexuality issue is back on the front pages because of the lady who has been nominated to head the Gender,Children and Social Protection Ministry long history of speaking for the rights of gays and lesbians. As human rights lawyer, Oye Lithur as expected has defended the rights of those in society who have no voice or political power to speaqk for themselves and because of that, she is being made to pay the price for doing what our Clergy, Chiefs and Politicians have failed to do.

Is homosexuality wrong? As Ghanaians, our traditions and norms frown on the practice of homosexuality and our religions, Christianity, Islam and others also sees homosexuality as morally decadent. As a Christian and Catholic, I also believe homosexuality is morally wrong and don't understand why two men will like to engage in sexual intercourse with each other, it makes my skin crawl but what I am not ready to do is to be homophobic foaming on the mouth with hate like the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church and others are doing. What is Oye Lithur's stand on the homosexual issue when she appeared at the appointment committee of Parliament? This is what she said;

“My stand on the actual practice of gay and lesbianism is personal and the issue of homosexuality is a societal issue which I believe our society should discuss, debate and deliberate upon and come to a conclusion as to whether they want to accept it or not. My focus is on defending the rights of everyone who finds himself or herself in Ghana.”

What does she mean by "the issue of homosexuality is a societal issue which I believe our society should discuss, debate and deliberate upon and come to a conclusion"? There in lies the whole problem. This homosexual issue can easily be solved if our Politicians, especially the legislature will do its job by enacting a law that will criminalize homosexuality and lesbianism but they are antipathetic to it but afraid to offend some Western countries they derpend on for grants and loans. Ask yourself why with about 99% of the population who are against the practice of homosexuality in Ghana, why we don't have any law making homosexuality a crime, WHY?

When some of us speaks for the rights of all Ghanaians on this issue, we get accused of being homosexuals but that is not true. Most of us are as heterosexuals as they come but we want the right thing to be done. The homosexuals are not doing anything criminal and they should not be persecuted.

Criminalize homosexuality and the Oye Lithurs of this world will not be talking about homosexuals rights because they will not have any rights then. Armed Robbers, murderers, Rapists, child molesters and others in the same category don't have rights because what they do is criminal. Why am I talking about Murderers and armed robbers on this issue? Some contributors to this debate on homosexuality usually come up with, homosexuals don't have rights or urge those of us who defends them why we are not defending the rights of armed robbers and murderers? We don't defend those people because there are laws in Ghana that make it a crime to engage in those endevours but there is no law that makes it a crime to be a homosexual. Ban homosexuality and I will not defend them or talk about their rights because then they will cease to have any rights.

"The Moderator of the Presby Church, Prof. Emmanuel Martey is asking the Appointments Committee of Parliament not to approve Nana Oye Lithur as the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection.He says her stance on homosexuality and lesbianism is very dangerous for the moral health of society.Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show Thursday, the Moderator said homosexuality, which Nana Oye Lithur is accused of promoting in the past, is morally wrong and must not be entertained"

Her stance on homosexuality and lesbianism is very dangerous for the moral health of society? How? Oye Lithur is not promoting the practice of homosexuality and lesbianism, she is only teaching people not 'lynch' them because there is no law against what they do. What they do might fall short of the standard and morals of Christian religion but they will have a date with God to answer like everybody else who believes we will all account for our behaviour on earth. It is rather very strange a Moderator of a Church like Presbyterian will take this stance bordering on hate.

Homosexuality is not a crime so those of you people with hearts of discrimination as your breakfast, homophobic as your lunch and foaming on the mouth with hate as your dinner should appeal to parliament to make homosexuality a crime and people like Oye Lithur will not have any law or legs to stand on talking about homosexual rights because when you criminalize it, then they lose their rights to practice that behaviour, until then, we should stop peeping into the bedrooms of others like SEXUAL POLICE and monitoring the sexual activities of our neighbours.. Below comment is typical of how this issue has been elevated toother issues that has nothing to do with homosexuality.The title to his comment was "HOMOSEXUALS ARE PERVERTS"

Author:Sankofa

Date: 2013-01-31 07:42:52

Comment to: HOMOSEXUALS ARE GHANAIANS

Yes what goes on in ones bedroom is normally nobody's business. However it becomes everybody's business when homosexuals, who are also normally paedophiles, rape our male children. It also becomes everybody's business when our hospitals are flooded with cases of gaping bloody asholes of homosexuals who have to wear pampers for the rest of their accursed lives to prevent wetting themselves from their damaged anuses. It again becomes everybody's business when homosexuals corrupt, distort and mutilate the moral fibre of society.

As far as I am concerned, homosexuality is not even a subject for discussion. It is just simply unacceptable."

Homosexuals are normally paedophiles? So Sankofa and his like minded supporters don't read about everyday news in the forum where heterosexual males have been raping children and babies? If this is not homophobic, then I don't know what homophobic is. Homosexuals should not be equated with paedophiles because heterosexuals tends to molest little girls than homosexuals molesting boys. Now instead of proving homosexual criminality, the issue has become paedophilia which is a crime that is high amongst heterosexuals. Are we talking about homosexuals or paedophiles? Where did we go wrong in our sense of intellectual arguments? Even our student body that should know better have dropped the ball on this issue threatening fire and brimstone if the appointment committee approves of Oye Lithur's nomination but all is not lost, we still have some Ghanaians who look at the merit of the issues and comment appropriately as Andy K did.

Author: C.Y. ANDY-K

Date: 2013-01-31 08:21:33

Comment to: VISIT GHANA'S NUGS MUSEUM

Elsewhere in the world, except in Islamic Republics, one would have expected a student body like NUGS championing the rights of everyone, including gays and lesbians in the light of modern trends based on scientific insight on homosexuality. But not in Ghana where Christian religious fanatics, outright charlatans and goons have taken over the airwaves and the once dynamic and progressive NUGS too and turn the univ campuses into one vast prayer camps, with lecturers often in charge for disseminating the backward, unscientific cosmogony and cosmology that negate all that is the rational world view that a univ must be espousing.

It was high time the very few of us who are not consumed by this Weberian primitive world view organise to fight them back, if Ghana is to join the civilised world order. The immoral atrocities that the so-called Christians are perpetrating on the gullible population far surpasses the practice of homosexuality which does not pose any danger to the pop. NUGS should be championing the abolition of trokosi, witches camp and a host of other discriminatory practices embedded in our culture rather than arguing that those customs supersede the Constitution.

NUGS should be campaigning to roll back the horrible injunctions imposed on women at Dove in the Central Tongu District by the Faith Tabernacle sect which bans women from even menstruating and giving birth at Dove! Even people cannot be buried there."

It will be a travesty of justice if we allow hate and discrimination to torpedo the nomination of Oye Lithur who is a class act and a respected Human Rights from heading the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection.

Justice Sarpong

(CARDINAL of TRUTH)