Ghana “Human Rights Commissioner”: No rights for LGBTs

Lauretta Lamptey

Ghana seems to be taking a turn for the Uganda these days, first with a regional minister calling for the arrest of all gays and then with the local Presbyterian Church offering pray-the-gay-away (“rehabilitation”) therapy. Now, the country’s Orwellianly titled Human Rights and Administrative Justice Commissioner, Lauretta Lamptey, is claiming that she was misquoted in recent reports and presents what, to her, must be a more reputable stance:

The first day she took up her appointment, myjoyonline.com reported Ms Lamptey as advocating the decriminalization of homosexuality.

The report quoted her as saying that homosexuals have rights under the law and does not believe their activities should be criminalized.

However, she has discounted this report.

“I did not advocate that homosexuality should be decriminalized. My view is that, it currently isn’t clear whether it is even criminal and that if the view of the society is that it should be then, there should be a debate about that,” Lauretta Lamptey who was appointed by President Mills following the retirement of the acting Commissioner Anna Bossman, said this in an interview with Xfm 95.1 in her office.

[…]

She added that (CHRAJ) as a constitutional institution will not fight for the rights of homosexuals if the law captures their activities to be criminal, adding “in my view I don’t think as a society we are ready to give homosexuals, lesbians the whole category of people any of those kind of rights”.

Someone needs to explain to Ms. Lamptey that the purpose of setting the record straight is generally to make oneself look better and less like a fascistic bigot. Though, I take it she truly does believe that preventing gays from enjoying such rights as not being arrested for being gay is actually the right thing to do.

Still, she’s not advocating that homosexuals be burned at the stake, so I suppose that’s progress … right?

(via Joe. My. God.)

Tags: Ghana • Lauretta Lamptey