The passage of the anti-gay bill has been a rollercoaster journey filled with debates, amendments, and speculations. Despite facing numerous challenges and differing opinions, proponents of the bill, led by Hon.Sam George, Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram in the Greater Accra Region are optimistic about its passage in March. As the bill progresses, it introduces a set of sanctions aimed at curbing LGBTQ+ activities in the country.
As the anti-gay bill moves closer to becoming a law, it’s important to understand the punishments it brings. These rules don’t just affect people legally; they might also change how people live and interact. Hence this article seeks to explore some of the sanctions.
1. Six Months in Jail
The bill includes a rule where people or individuals caught engaging in these activities themselves, which implies anyone seen in a romantic relationship with the same sex is bound to face this sanction which ranges from a minimum of six months to a maximum of three years.
2. Three to Five Years in Jail
Another important rule says that people who actively support or sponsor LGBTQ+ activities can get three to five years in jail. This shows that the authorities take these actions very seriously.
3. Fines and Jail Time
After a lot of discussions, the decision is to use both fines and jail time. The bill says there will be a fine of at least 750 penalty units, which equals GHC9,400. Along with the fine, people who break the law may also go to jail for a minimum of 2 months and a maximum of 4 months.
In legal contexts, a “penalty unit” is a numerical value assigned to quantify the severity of a financial penalty. This means that every 750 penalty unit is worth an amount of GHC9,400, and the total fine for the offense would be calculated by multiplying the number of penalty units by this value.
So, if there were, for example, 1500 penalty units for the offense, the fine would be 2 * GHC9,400 per unit = GHC18,800
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