The Majority Leader in Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, has cautioned individuals involved in LGBTQ activities to abandon such practices or face legal consequences once the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, receives presidential assent.
His remarks come after Parliament on Friday, May 29, approved the controversial legislation, widely referred to as the anti-LGBTQ bill, following extensive deliberations and consideration of several proposed amendments.
The bill, which seeks to regulate matters relating to human sexual rights and family values, has generated significant public debate, attracting strong support from its proponents while drawing criticism from human rights groups and civil society organizations.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Friday, Ayariga stated that individuals who identify as LGBTQ would be expected to comply with the provisions of the law once it officially takes effect.
“You will have to change. That’s the response I will give to that person,” he said.
“If you’re a boy, you shouldn’t be wearing the dresses of girls around town. If you know that you’ve been practicing LGBTQ in this country, with this bill having been passed today, immediately it is assented to by the President, you will have to change.”
According to the Majority Leader, the passage of the bill represents a significant shift in the country’s legal framework regarding LGBTQ issues, adding that enforcement would begin after the President signs it into law.Despite his firm stance, Ayariga emphasized that the legislation does not endorse violence or vigilantism against individuals suspected of engaging in LGBTQ practices.
“Mob action is seriously frowned upon in the bill, and indeed, it has very serious consequences,” he stated.
“Anybody attacking, assaulting, or lynching any person accused or suspected of practicing LGBTQ will be punished even more severely than the practitioners of LGBTQ.”
He urged the public to respect the rule of law and allow the appropriate authorities to enforce the legislation should it become law.
