The Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, has waded into the controversy surrounding the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values (PPHSRGF) Bill stressing that it is an issue of morality and not of rights.
“If we have a society where there are no absolutes, soon there will be no law. Likewise, if every behaviour is shielded by Law, soon we would have no laws. So, we need to be careful when arguing about this because the matter on the floor [of parliament] is not about rights, it is about morality,” he said when the church presented six memos with more than 15,000 signatories in support of the Anti-LGBTQ+bill to parliament on Wednesday, October 6, 2021.
The Chairman said that The Church of Pentecost, with a membership of more than three million people, representing approximately 10 per cent of the nation’s population, is fully backing the bill and urged the lawmakers to pass it into law to safeguard the family values of the Ghanaian people.
Apostle Nyamekye cautioned that if the activities of LGBTQ+ are not criminalised, it would lead to acceptance of same-sex marriages in the future, which would have far-reaching consequences for the nation.
He advised the legislators not to base their arguments only on scientific facts but to understand that “the whole world is a sovereign state owned by a sovereign God,” and the Creator of the world reserves the right to determine how His creation should live. “It is not up to other creations to show us how we should live,” he added.
The Chairman also urged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to exercise his constitutional [executive] powers in helping to bring finality to this long-standing issue.
“As a church, our concern is not about today, but the future. When we allow the activities of LGBTQ+ it would lead to same-sex marriages, which the President has said would never happen under his watch,” he said.
He added: “However if the President allows LGBTQ+ activities to continue, although same-sex marriage may not happen under his watch as president it will happen after he is no more president of the nation. Rather, what he should do is to stop it. He should close the door where it matters, and we are saying it should be now.”
Apostle Nyamekye said that the church’s support for the bill should not be seen as a promotion of hate towards LGBTQ+ persons, but against their immoral activities. This is why, according to him, the PPHSRGF bill would not only criminalise the act but also offer reformative measures for persons with such sexual disorders.
The Church of Pentecost, together with other Christian groups, presented to parliament separate memos in support of the passage of the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill into law. The memos were received on behalf of the Committee of Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs by Mr. Owusu Mensah (Acting Deputy Clerk, Finance, Administration and Legal Affairs), who assured them that it would be submitted to the committee for consideration.
The ‘Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values’ Bill is a private members’ legislation laid before parliament by the Member of Parliament of Ningo Prampram, Hon. Samuel Nartey George, and six other legislators.
The bill, among other things, seeks to criminalise LGBTQI+ activities in the country and proposes sanctions against groups and individuals who promote LGBTQI.
Since this presentation in August this year, the bill has received wide support from the Ghanaian population including Christian and Para-Christian bodies, the Muslim community, non-religious entities, traditional rulers, and opinion leaders in Ghana.
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