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Ghana’s parliament passes strict new anti-LGBTQ legislation to extend sentences and expand scope
Johannesburg — Ghana’s parliament approved a highly controversial anti-LGBTQ bill on Wednesday after months of debate. The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values bill is one of the toughest pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislation in Africa.
Homosexuality is already illegal in Ghana and punishable by up to three years in prison. Under the new law, that maximum sentence will increase to five years. It would also bring in a custodial sentence for people convicted of advocating for LGBTQ rights and make the distribution of material deemed supportive of LGBTQ rights illegal.
Emily Leshner/AP
The bill, which was sponsored by a group of traditional leaders from Ghana’s Christian and Muslim communities, now must be signed into law by President Nana Akufo-Addo. He’s widely expected to do so, though he’s not said publicly whether he’ll sign the legislation.
The Big 18 & Human Rights Coalition, an umbrella group of lawyers and activists in Ghana, said at a Tuesday news conference that the bill “criminalizes a person’s identity and strips away fundamental human rights” and urged the president to reject it.
Takyiwaa Manuh, a senior fellow at the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development, noted to CBS News that Akufo-Addo has not signed any previous privately sponsored bills into law due to the demands of an article in the country’s constitution that requires scrutiny over potential financial impacts of legislation.
Manuh said the speaker of the parliament had carried out no such analysis of the new bill as required, and that if it is enacted, she argued that it would place a “heavy burden on the judiciary, the police and other aspects of life.”
“I am sad, disappointed and surprised that our commitment and democratic principles in this country appear to be so shallow,” lamented Manuh. “This bill represents a real danger to our country, and we are looking to the president to uphold the values of our country and constitution.”
Manuh said Ghanaian civil society organizations were ready to file legal challenges against the bill.
“Shockingly, we have found that the majority of people haven’t even read the bill,” which she said, “implies duties on parents, landlords, owners of businesses.”
She said when people do read and understand how they could actually be implicated by the legislation, they’re shocked at how it could make them liable for the actions of others.
As the debate over the bill increased in recent weeks, so did attacks on members of the LGBTQ community. Activists say students have been attacked and expelled from school, people have been robbed, and many have been subjected to extortion from community members threatening to out them.
Manuh said her organizatioon had received numerous reports of people being banished from their hometowns, losing their jobs and all support from their own families.
“It’s a chilling feeling,” she told CBS News. “No one should face jail time or harassment for their sexuality. Their rights must be respected.”
The United Nations warned in 2021 that the proposed law would “create a system of state-sponsored discrimination and violence” against gay people in Ghana.
The top constitutional court in Uganda, the nation with the most extreme anti-LGBTQ laws in Africa, is currently considering a ruling on a law there that threatens life imprisonment and even death for homosexuality.
Ugandan civil rights groups immediately challenged the anti-homosexuality act when it passed in December. The U.S. has condemned that legislation and sanctioned Uganda by restricting visas and withholding trade over it.
It is not clear how long the court may take to issue its ruling on the constitutionality of the law.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
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Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.