A member of the Council of State, Sam Okudzeto, has spoken out against the passage of the controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill, questioning its necessity and appropriateness. In an interview with TV3 on Wednesday, May 8, Mr. Okudzeto expressed his disapproval of the legislation, emphasizing the importance of personal freedoms and privacy rights.
According to Mr. Okudzeto, the state should not intervene in the private affairs of consenting adults, and the actions of two adults in the privacy of their bedroom should not be subject to governmental scrutiny or regulation. He challenged the perceived link between individuals’ intimate relationships and the broader economy, asking how such relationships affect the economy or put food on the table.
Mr. Okudzeto also criticized the clergy for their singular focus on homosexuality as a sin deserving of legislative action, wondering if they are equally vocal and proactive in addressing other sins recorded in the Bible.
“We have even tried to induce the churches, they are all running around calling on the president to sign the bill. All the sins which are listed in the Bible, what have they been doing about it? LGBTQI is the only one they have seen? We talk about corruption, corruption, from the messenger to the top, every one of us is involved in corruption.”
“When a man and woman go and sleep in the bedroom, is that my business? How does that affect the economy? How does that put food out of my mouth? Does that affect my education? So I have a different view altogether. I think the whole concept, is completely out of the issue…We are preoccupied with someone sitting with a man or a woman sitting with a woman as being a national issue. The whole thing about LGBTQI is a nonsense issue, it should not have come in the first place,” he said.
The Council of State member insisted that the focus on anti-LGBTQ+ legislation detracts from addressing critical socio-economic challenges and called for a re-evaluation of national priorities. He described the whole concept of the bill as “completely out of issue” and emphasized that it should not have been brought forward in the first place.
Parliament has unanimously passed the bill criminalizing the practice and promotion of LGBTQ+, but its transmission to President Akufo-Addo for his assent is currently stalled after two citizens challenged the constitutionality of the bill.
