Draft legislation in Ghana would make identifying as gay or even an ally to the LGBTQ community a second-degree felony punishable by five years in prison — with advocating for LGBTQ rights punishable by up to 10 years.
Same-sex conduct is already a crime in the West African country, with violators facing a three-year sentence, but the new Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill seeks to criminalize identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, pansexual, nonbinary, queer, an ally “or any other sexual or gender identity that is contrary to the binary categories of male and female,” according to a version of the bill leaked online.
Advocating
for the rights of anyone in those categories — through speech, printed
material, electronic media or other means — could result in an even
steeper sentence of up to a decade in prison.
There you have it.
ReplyDeleteCountries that are finally getting it right.
"...Uganda’s 'Kill the Gays' bill, which called for the death penalty for homosexuals who were 'repeat offenders.'"
Torah thought on this week’s parsha ראה
ReplyDeleteDeath penalty by a Jewish court of leading rabbis :
“As for that prophet or dream diviner, he shall be put to death; for he urged disloyalty to the Lord your God---who freed you from the land of Egypt, and who redeemed you from the house of bondage---to make you stray from the path that the Lord your God commanded you to follow. Thus you will sweep out evil from your midst.” (Deuteronomy 13:6).
“but take his life כי הרג תהרגנו. Let your hand be first against him to put him to death, and the hand of the rest of the people thereafter. Stone him to death וסקלתו באבנים ומת; for he sought to make you stray from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thus all Israel will hear and be afraid, and shall evil things will not be done again in your midst.” (Deuteronomy 13:10-12).
“put the inhabitants of the town to the sword and put its cattle to the sword. Doom it and all that is in it to destruction” (Deuteronomy 13:16).
דברים י"ג י'
כִּי הָרֹג תַּהַרְגֶנּוּ יָדְךָ תִּהְיֶה בּוֹ בָרִאשׁוֹנָה לַהֲמִיתוֹ וְיַד כָּל הָעָם בָּאַחֲרֹנָה:
רש"י
כי הרג תהרגנו - [אם יצא מבית דין זכאי, החזירהו לחובה] יצא מבית דין חייב, אל תחזירהו לזכות: ידך תהיה בו בראשונה - מצוה ביד הניסת להמיתו. לא מת בידו, ימות ביד אחרים, שנאמר ויד כל העם וגו':
Baba Metzia 31b
“He that smote him shall surely be put to death: I know only [that he is to be executed] by the mode of death prescribed in his case: whence do I know that if you cannot execute him with the death prescribed for him, you may slay him with any death you are able? From the verse, He shall surely be put to death, meaning under all circumstances.”
My theory. He shall surely be put to death shows the severity the Torah views certain sins. Uganda and Ghana want to show the severity the government views sodomy. Oh, yesterday, Iran’s new president murdered a UK citizen and another fellow with a drone attack on a Jewish vessel in international waters. Iran’s new president wants to show the world the severity he views vessels in international waters near his home. Will Biden/Harris be tough on Iran’s new president?
מִדְּבַר־שֶׁ֖קֶר תִּרְחָ֑ק וְנָקִ֤י וְצַדִּיק֙ אַֽל־תַּהֲרֹ֔ג כִּ֥י לֹא־אַצְדִּ֖יק רָשָֽׁע
ReplyDeleteIn shemot 23, 7. We are told to stay far from a false matter. Most commentators say it applies to judges. Haketav v'hakabbalah, whose project is to unify the written and oral law, says it is a ubiquitous commandment since the most common sin is to lie.
My theory - in our intellectual lives the Torah tells us to be honest, and in our professional or business lives.
But, it is perhaps also telling us to keep a distance from falsehood - ie anti Torah culture (whether it is in secular or frum society)
Is Ghanna Muslim? Because if it is, then it's okay for them to do this.
ReplyDeleteit is majority christian, and black
ReplyDeleteso it's ok to do this