Nana Akufo-Addo: Marriage Equality won’t be Legalized in Ghana

Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that same-sex marriage will not be legalized in Ghana under his presidency.

Speaking at St. Micheal and All Angels Cathedral in Asante Mampong during the installation of the Second Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Ghana, the President said he won’t legalize same-sex marriage in the country.

“For same-sex marriage to be legalized in Ghana, it will not happen in my time as President,” Nana Addo said at the ceremony.

This President’s comment comes in the wake of pressure on the government to come clear and state its position on activities of persons who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex. (LGBTI+)

The opening of an LGBTI+ office at Ashongman in Accra has sparked a national debate as to whether Ghana will legalize LGBTI+.

Whoi is Nana Akufo-Addo?

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, born 29 March 1944) is a Ghanaian politician who is the current president of the Republic of Ghana. He has been in office since 7 January 2017.He previously served as Attorney General from 2001 to 2003 and as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2007 under the Kufuor-led administration. He is also currently serving his second term as the chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

Americans Identifying as LGBTI+ Increased

According to a recent survey from the Gallup research firm, 5.6 percent of Americans are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex people. This significant increase, which means about 18 million people, is attributed to the greater acceptance of LGBTI+ individuals in the society.

While this rate was 4.5 percent in Gallup’s 2017 survey, the result from the 2020 survey indicates a record jump of 24 percent. The main reason for the increase is from Generation Z adults aged 18-23. 15.9 percent of this generation say they are LGBTI+.

“At a time when the public is increasingly promoting equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, ınterex + people, a growing percentage of Americans identify as LGBTI+,” the Gallup website said.

In the 2020 election, the US saw Pete Buttigieg as the first openly gay presidential candidate. LGBTI+ candidates have had multiple historic wins, including Sarah McBride, the first open transgender state senator.

According to the Washington-based research center Public Religion Research Institute, Americans’ support for same sex marriage, which was legalized in 2015 and seen largely as a synonym for LGBTI+ rights, rose from 36 percent in 2007 to 62 percent in 2020.

The Gallup survey shows that 54.6 percent of LGBTI+ Americans identify as bisexual, 24.5 percent are gay men, 11.7 percent are lesbians and 11.3 percent are transgender.

For the first survey conducted in 2012, 15,000 Americans were randomly interviewed by phone throughout 2020. While 86.7 percent of the respondents identified themselves as heterosexual, 7.6 percent refused to respond to the interviewers. This rate was around 5 percent in past surveys.

There were significant differences between generations. Among those born before 1946, seniors were much less likely to see themselves as LGBTI+. The lowest rate was recorded as 1.3 percent.

Researchers found that women were more likely to describe themselves as LGBTI+ than men. While this rate was 4.9 percent for men, it was 6.4 percent for women. From a political point of view, 13 percent of liberal respondents and 2.3 percent of conservatives identified themselves as LGBTI+.

It is noted that there is a similar trend in England. According to government data, the proportion of people identifying themselves as lesbian, gay or bisexual increased from 1.6 percent in 2016 to 2.2 percent in 2018.

Acceptance of Homosexuality is Increasing

According to a study conducted in the USA, the tendency of homosexuality to be accepted in societies has increased worldwide. Turkey showed differences in acceptance rates by 25 percent Trends countries.

According to the survey results announced by the US-based Pew research company, more and more people around the world are of the opinion that homosexuality should be accepted more.

However, although there is a general increase in the acceptance of homosexuality, the rates vary according to the countries depending on the demographic structure. Accordingly, mostly in Western Europe, rich countries and societies with a high level of education, young people accept homosexuality as a part of the society.

According to the results of the research comparing 2002 and 2019, the rate of those who think that homosexuals are included in the society in the USA increased from 51 percent in 2002 to 72 percent in 2019. From 25 percent to 44 percent in South Korea, from 54 percent to 68 percent in Japan, from 33 percent to 54 percent in South Africa, from 83 percent to 86 percent in Germany and It increased from 74 percent to 86 percent in the UK.

In the study, it was also examined whether there is a parallel between individuals’ political tendencies and their perception of homosexuals. The research revealed that there is a deep ideological gap in the outlook for homosexuals between two different political fronts in the US.

Accordingly, 85 percent of Democratic voters in the USA support homosexuals, while those close to Republicans support homosexuals at 58 percent.

Bottom row in Turkey

Societies where homosexuality is not welcome were also listed in the study. Accordingly, Nigeria is the country where homosexuality is least accepted in society with 7 percent. 9 percent in Indonesia and Tunisia, 13 percent in Lebanon, Russia, Ukraine, and 14 percent in Kenya and was determined to be 25 percent in Turkey.

Religion is also an influential factor in the view of homosexuality, according to Pew’s research. Accordingly, the rate of acceptance of homosexuals among religious people is lower than nonreligious people.

While 73 percent of religious and religious people in Germany think that homosexuals should be accepted in society, this rate is 91 percent for non-religious Germans.

While the proportion of religious people who support homosexuals is 22 percent in Israel, this rate is 62 percent for non-religious people. In Poland, the rate of support for homosexuals varies among religious and non-religious people. 73 percent of the religious and 53 percent of the non-religious people in the country think that homosexuality should be accepted.

62 percent of religious people in Italy, 80 percent of non-religious people, 66 percent of religious people in Brazil, and 76 percent of people who are not see homosexuality as a part of society.

while 19 percent of those defining homosexuality as a pious religious people in Turkey while seeing itself as part of society finds 45 percent. In the USA, this situation is at the level of 57 percent and 86 percent.

A total of 38 thousand 426 people from 34 countries participated in the study, which covered the period of May and October 2019.