The Deputy Majority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin has disclosed that he supports the non-criminalization of homosexuality.
According to him, the Catholic Church has been clear on the rights of gays and as a member, he supports the position of the church.
Speaking in an interview with TV3’s parliamentary reporter Komla Kluste on Tuesday, November 28, the Effutu lawmaker said “I am a Catholic and the position of the Catholic church is very clear, the law is very and I don’t think that what the church has said I should hold a contrary view to it.
“The church says that by the culture of Africans, we are against same-sex marriage but it is also against criminalizing somebody who has that sexual orientation. I am a catholic, I don’t hold a contrary view to what the Catholic church is saying.”
He stressed “The Catholic Church is saying it will be wrong to criminalize somebody’s sexual orientation and so be it. I don’t think that somebody claiming to be a lesbian or gay should go to jail. by virtue of that.”
His comments come after the chancellor of the Pontifical Academies of Sciences, Cardinal Peter Turkson said that there is no need to criminalise homosexuality.
He said persons with gay and lesbian tendencies have committed no crime.
“LGBT people may not be criminalized because they’ve committed no crime. To criminalize anybody, you need to identify the crime,” he said.
Cardinal Peter Turkson said this during an interview on the BBC Hardtalk program on November 27, 2023.
He explained what has resulted in efforts to enact laws against homosexual activities “What caused all of this is an attempt to link some foreign donations and grants to certain positions… in the name of freedom, in the name of respect for rights”.
