The second reading of the Bill on Promotion of Proper Sexual Human Rights and Ghanaian Family Values popularly dubbed the Anti-gay bill hit a snag in Parliament last week.
The House failed to take the second reading because the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee were conspicuously absent.
Speaker of House Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin directed the Business Committee to table the Bill for debate last week.
However, the House was unable to proceed with it despite the fact the motion appeared on the order paper on Thursday and Friday because Chairman Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi and Ranking Member Bernard Ahiafor were both unavailable during the scheduled reading of the bill.
A proponent of the Bill, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzra, expressed concern that the Bill had been advertised for two days but had not been included in the Business Statement and demanded answers for the delay.
The Majority Leader and Chairman of the Business Committee, however, explained the absence of the Committee Chairman and Ranking Member had hindered the progress of the bill.
Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu stressed the second reading could not take place in their absence.