Open referendum on gay rights- LGBT community tells Parliament

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender, LGBT Community in Ghana are asking Parliament to open a referendum for Ghanaians to vote on whether gay rights should be recognized in the country or not.

The LGBT community believes that such a referendum will be a fair means of treating such people in the country.

According to the spokesperson for the LGBT community in Ghana, Philcollins Agbedanu Kroger, Speaker of Parliament Prof Mike Ozquaye has been very unfair towards the group by stressing that Ghana will not legalize homosexuality.

“… he’s not being fair to the LGBT community in Ghana because when it comes to human rights, one person does not speak for the whole nation. Gay and lesbian rights legalization is not an individual issue… he can bring it on board for them to discuss it in Parliament, he can also call for a referendum and then people will vote,” he said.

The LGBT community also sided with the US ambassador, Robert P. Jackson for his statement that there are far more gays and lesbians than Ghanaians realize and that in 10 years time, homosexuality will likely be legalized in Ghana.

In an interview with BBC Reporter Favour Nunoo, the LGBT community in Ghana also noted that they are poised to prove there are more Ghanaians who are gay than anticipated, most of whom are hiding following fear of arrest, medical abuse, discrimination and torture.

They are therefore pleading that Parliament opens a referendum so that everyone sees the response and then a decision can be made from there.

US ambassador Robert Jackson on '21 minutes with KKB' explained his stance saying:“This is a long process and it was a long process in my country. Homosexual marriage has only become law in recent years and prior to that when I was growing up, nobody talked about homosexuality. Everyone who was gay suffered enormous discrimination and that has changed in the United States because people have a better understanding of the science and issues. I think that as Ghanaians gain a greater understanding of the science and issues, they’ll also be very tolerant because this is a very tolerant country and this is one area where Ghana’s tolerance seems very limited”.