The Presbyterian Church of Ghana Nationwide has called for a three-year minimum jail term for persons who engage in LGBTQ+ activities.
The church promised stiffer punishment for persons engaged in LGBTQ + activities.
The call was made when the church, led by its representative, presented its memorandum at the public hearing on the private member’s bill known as the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values by the Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament.
During the presentation of the memo before the committee, the Director of Ecumenical and Social Relations of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rev. Nii Amarh Ashitey, said the punishment prescribed in the Anti-LGBTQ + Bill currently before parliament must be deterrent enough.
“As Christians, we believe in mercy and forgiveness, but we equally believe that punishments are meant as deterrents not only for the offender but also for people who harbor similar intent,” he said.
Rev. Nii Ashitey said that it is the considered opinion of PCGW that any offence committed under the bill should not attract an equivalent jail term of fewer than three years.
He said that this bill is essential to control social order and norms, that the punishment prescribed must be deterrent enough.
‘‘We shall be preserving our religious and moral values, as enshrined in both our cultural and religious affiliations,’’ said Rev. Nii Ashitey.
Source: Mybrytnewsroom.com/Solomon Nartey
