Jamaica: Archbishop ducks question on sodomy law

Posted on June 19, 2013 by
Archbishop Charles Dufour of Kingston, Jamaica. (Photo courtesy of the Antilles Episcopal Conference)

Archbishop Charles Dufour of Kingston, Jamaica. (Photo courtesy of the Antilles Episcopal Conference)

Several of Jamaica’s churches have voiced very vocal opposition to the case brought by Javed Jaghai challenging the country’s 1864 anti-sodomy law. These churches have also planned island-wide anti-gay demonstrations for Sunday, June 23, in advance of the first hearing of the case on June 25. In response to a Parliamentary conscience vote which the government has promised to call before the end of the year, the churches have also launched an island-wide petition demanding that the government keep the law.

In light of this growing tide of anti-gay religious rhetoric, I wrote to the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kingston, the Most Rev. Charles Dufour, to get his views on the criminalization of private acts of intimacy between consenting adults. Kingston is Jamaica’s largest Catholic Diocese and I therefore expect that Archbishop Dufour’s position will mirror that of the island’s Catholic church. His response is attached as a PDF file. Excerpts include:

As Chief Shepherd of the Catholics in Kingston, I do not feel that I need to make any special declaration at this time in the present debate as the present position of the Catholic Church was clarified by the Holy See in 2011 [Editor's note: "Mr. President, the Holy See takes this opportunity to affirm the inherent dignity and worth of all human beings, and to condemn all violence that is targeted against people because of their sexual feelings and thoughts, or sexual behaviours" and more.] following the declaration of 2008 which you kindly quoted. [Editor's note: "The Holy See continues to advocate that every sign of unjust discrimination towards homosexual persons should be avoided and urges States to do away with criminal penalties against them" and more.]

These documents are easily available online. I find, however, that the concluding remarks of Archbishop Tomasi in his 2011 intervention at the U.N. in Geneva very useful in the present debate.

“And finally, Mr. President, we wish to call attention to a disturbing trend in some of these social debates: People are being attacked for taking positions that do not support sexual behaviour between people of the same sex. When they express their moral beliefs or beliefs about human nature, which may also be expressions of religious convictions, or state opinions about scientific claims, they are stigmatised, and worse — they are vilified, and prosecuted. These attacks contradict the fundamental principles announced in three of the Council’s resolutions of this session. The truth is, these attacks are violations of fundamental human rights, and cannot be justified under any circumstances.”

It is my wish that such attacks against persons who uphold the definition and sanctity of marriage as a union between a man and a woman never become a reality in our Island.

It is important to note that Archbishop Dufour avoids answering the question directly and instead points to a 2011 statement made before the United Nations by the Holy See’s representative, Archbishop Tomasi. In this statement, Tomasi said:

Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi

Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi

“[F]or the purposes of human rights law, there is a critical difference between feelings and thoughts, on the one hand, and behavior, on the other. A state should never punish a person, or deprive a person of the enjoyment of any human right, based just on the person’s feelings and thoughts, including sexual thoughts and feelings. But states can, and must, regulate behaviors, including various sexual behaviors. Throughout the world, there is a consensus between societies that certain kinds of sexual behaviors must be forbidden by law. Pedophilia and incest are two examples.”

The position of the Archbishop of Kingston is markedly different from that taken by the Jamaican-born Roman Catholic Bishop of Antigua and Barbuda, and the Catholic Bishop of Rouseau. Both Bishops publicly declared their support for the decriminalization of sodomy. Archbishop Dufour’s statement can possibly be explained by the fact that two senior Deacons in his church, along with several high-ranking members, have united to form a group called Christians for Truth and Justice to oppose the constitutional claim brought by Javed Jaghai..

Archbishop Dufour’s evasive response also mentions same-sex marriage. This issue was never put to him. However, this red-herring issue is often used by the church to distract from answering the central question: Do they believe that consenting adults should be criminalized for their private acts of intimacy?

I replied to Archbishop Dufour with this letter:

Your Grace,
Thank you for your correspondence on this matter

As a proud Montegonian, I celebrate with you the elevation of the newly enthroned Bishop of Montego Bay. I also wish him all the very best in his service to the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in that part of the island. I would be grateful if you would extend to the Bishop my very best regards.

I also thank you for your clarification on your position within the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church in Jamaica. I however believe my confusion might be reasonably excused in light of the fact that the Archbishop of Kingston has often represented the Catholic Church at state and other civic functions. The office of Archbishop is also the highest office attainable within the Jamaican Catholic Church. That position is held by you.

With respect, your letter did not address the question which I posed. Permit me to repeat the essential section “[K]indly explain the Church’s views with regard to the country’s anti-buggery law.” I regret that your reference to Archbishop Tomassi’s 2011 statement was not helpful, as he spoke to criminalizing sexual activities such as pedophilia and incest. Both of these activities are universally discouraged by modern scientific evidence, although they were extensively practiced by celebrated figures in the Judeo-Christian tradition. These include Abraham, who married his sister Sarah, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was married while still in her teens. Conversely, you may be aware that since 1990 the World Health Organization has declassified homosexuality as a mental illness.

Further, your reference to marriage is, again, not relevant to this discussion. What is being inquired into is your position as the most senior bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in Jamaica on the question of the country’s law that criminalizes private consensual same-gender intimacy between men.

I hope this clarifies the question and allows you to provide a more precise answer.

Warm regards,
Maurice Tomlinson

Do you think he will respond?

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Europe asks Russia, What about heterosexual propaganda?

Posted on June 18, 2013 by
The Council of Europe's Palais de l'Europe (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

The Council of Europe’s Palais de l’Europe (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

“What about ‘propaganda of heterosexuality?’ ” asks a commission of European legal experts in their newly adopted opinion about legislation to ban so-called “propaganda of homosexuality,” which has been variously passed or is under consideration in Russia, Ukraine and Moldova.

Nigel Warner, adviser from ILGA-Europe to the Council of Europe, reports here about  how the European commission of legal experts, called the Venice Commission, has shredded the idea of prohibiting so-called “propaganda of homosexuality.”

In those experts’ opinion, the proposals are ambiguous, discriminatory, incompatible with international human rights standards.  Warner reports:

Logo of the Council of EuropeThe Venice Commission – full name, the European Commission for Democracy through Law, is the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional matters. Its role is to provide legal advice to its member states and, in particular, to help states wishing to bring their legal and institutional structures into line with European standards and international experience in the fields of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. It is regarded as highly authoritative. The Commission has 59 member states: the 47 Council of Europe member states, plus 12 other countries (Algeria, Brazil, Chile, Israel, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Mexico, Peru, Tunisia and the USA). Its individual members, constitutional law experts, are appointed by the member states.

The Opinion concludes that:

· The provisions under consideration are not formulated with sufficient precision to satisfy the requirement “prescribed by law”. The terms used are too ambiguous.

· The justifications used for prohibition such as public morality, values and traditions, protection of minors, fail to pass essential necessity and proportionality tests required by the European Convention on Human Rights.

· The prohibition concerns solely “propaganda of homosexuality”, as opposed to “propaganda of heterosexuality”. The lack of any reasonable and objective criteria to justify this difference in treatment amounts to discrimination on the basis of content of speech about sexual orientation.

The Venice Commission adds that “homosexuality as a variation of sexual orientation, is protected under the ECHR and as such, cannot be deemed contrary to morals by public authorities…. On the other hand, there is no evidence that expressions of sexual orientation adversely affect minors, whose interest is to receive relevant, appropriate and objective information about sexuality, including sexual orientations.”

Finally, in an important closing paragraph, it challenges the whole rationale for these “propaganda for homosexuality” laws:

“80. On the whole, it seems that the aim of these measures is not so much to advance and promote traditional values and attitudes towards family and sexuality but rather to curtail non-traditional ones by punishing their expression and promotion. As such, the measures in question appear to be incompatible with “the underlying values of the ECHR”, in addition to their failure to meet the requirements for restrictions prescribed by Articles 10, 11 and 14 of the Convention.”

So its final conclusion comes as no surprise:

“81. In the light of the above, the Venice Commission considers that the statutory provisions prohibiting “propaganda of homosexuality”, are incompatible with ECHR and international human rights standards. The Venice Commission therefore recommends that these provisions be repealed.”

Of course, the Russian authorities were fully aware of these conclusions when their “propaganda for non-traditional sexual relationships” law was pushed through the Lower House of the federal parliament last week. And no doubt the timing of the debate, before publication of the Opinion, is not a coincidence.

Still, the Opinion will be a valuable tool in the continuing battles against “propaganda for homosexuality” laws.

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Tanzania’s harsh laws, police abuse impede AIDS fight

Posted on June 18, 2013 by
East Africa map shows Tanzania, with semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar off shore.

East Africa map shows Tanzania, with semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar off shore.

From Human Rights Watch:

(Dar es Salaam) – Tanzanians who are most at risk of HIV face widespread police abuse and often can’t get help when they are victims of crime, Human Rights Watch and the Wake Up and Step Forward Coalition (WASO) said in a report released today.

The 98-page report, “‘Treat Us Like Human Beings:’ Discrimination against Sex Workers, Sexual and Gender Minorities, and People Who Use Drugs in Tanzania,” documents abuses including torture, rape, assault, arbitrary arrest, and extortion. The organizations found that the fear of abuse is driving sex workers, people who use drugs, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people away from prevention and treatment services. The groups conducted their research from May 2012 to April 2013, and interviewed 121 members of high risk groups, along with Tanzanian government officials, service providers, and academics.

“The Tanzanian government has committed on paper to reduce the stigma for at-risk groups, but that commitment is meaningless if the police regularly rape, assault, and arrest them,” said Neela Ghoshal, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The government’s HIV policy can’t succeed if police are driving away the very people the public health programs most need to reach.”

Cover of the report "Treat Us Like Human Beings." (Click the image for links to the report.)

Cover of the report “Treat Us Like Human Beings.” (Click the image for links to the report.)

Denial of health services

The two organizations also documented a wide range of abuses against at-risk groups in the health sector, including denial of services, verbal harassment and abuse, and violations of confidentiality. Tanzanian HIV/AIDS policy calls for efforts to reduce stigma against marginalized groups, and authorities have taken some measures to do so. But Human Rights Watch and WASO identified dozens of cases in which health workers turned away sex workers, LGBTI people, and drug users from health facilities without offering services, or publicly humiliated them.

Exploitation of children

The groups also documented the commercial sexual exploitation of children. It is prohibited for children to engage in sex work, but instead of protecting these children and offering them assistance, the groups found that police rape, sexually assault, and beat them with impunity. In one case, a 12-year-old girl engaged in sex work in Mbeya was gang-raped by police officers. Police who abuse these children should be investigated and prosecuted.

The groups found that semiofficial security forces, most notably the Sungu Sungu, a vigilante group, are also implicated in violence against at-risk populations, “policing” their behavior, often through force.

These human rights violations contribute to an environment in which men who have sex with men, transgender people, sex workers, and people who inject drugs have become increasingly distrustful of the state. Their fears undermine public health initiatives that depend on cooperation and partnership between the government and key populations that are most at risk of HIV infection.

HIV policy: ‘half-hearted’ implementation

Tanzania’s HIV policy commits, among other strategies, to increase access to HIV prevention and services for key populations; to build partnerships with nongovernmental organizations representing these marginalized groups; and to work toward decriminalization of sex work and same-sex conduct. However, these strategies have been carried out halfheartedly at best, Human Rights Watch and WASO found.

Members of most at-risk populations are also denied access to information about HIV. Public awareness campaigns on HIV almost exclusively target heterosexual couples. Many community-based organizations believe they cannot offer services to criminalized groups, fearing that working with these groups is, in itself, illegal. LGBTI people and sex workers say that they cannot form legally recognized membership groups and register with the government. In 2011, police arrested and beat one gay man in Dar es Salaam simply because he tried to organize a workshop for other men who have sex with men.

Among the harshest laws

Tanzanian law punishes consensual sexual conduct between adult males with 30 years to life in prison, one of the harshest sentences for same-sex intimacy in the world. In semiautonomous Zanzibar, the law prohibits consensual same-sex sexual relations between men, with a penalty of up to 14 years in prison, and between women, with up to 5 years in prison. No one has been prosecuted for same-sex conduct in recent years, but the law contributes to the isolation and marginalization of LGBTI people. Sex work is criminalized in both mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar, as is the personal possession and consumption of even small amounts of narcotic drugs.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) says that criminalization of key populations drives them underground and away from HIV services, resulting in further marginalization, discrimination, and violence. The Global Commission on HIV and the Law, a commission of experts established by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), also calls for decriminalizing sex work and same-sex conduct involving consenting adults.

The criminalization of consensual sexual relations among adults is incompatible with a number of internationally recognized human rights, including the rights to privacy and non-discrimination. Criminalization of the voluntary, commercial exchange of sexual services among adults, as in the case of consensual sex work by adults, is also incompatible with the right to privacy, including personal autonomy.

What Tanzania and Zanzibar should do

President Jakaya Kikwete should publicly condemn police abuse, discrimination in health care, and all other forms of discrimination against sex workers, people who use drugs, and LGBTI people, Human Rights Watch and WASO said. The police and the Health and Social Welfare Ministry should provide services for all who require them.

The parliaments of Tanzania and Zanzibar should decriminalize same-sex conduct and sex work involving consenting adults, and review drug laws to ensure that they are consistent with human rights.

What donors should do

Donors should ensure that funding directed to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in Tanzania includes funds specifically aimed at these key populations’ health needs, and should support the development of civil society organizations representing them.

“If Tanzania is truly committed to addressing HIV/AIDS among key populations, it needs a coordinated, rights-based approach,” Ghoshal said. “The police and health care workers should provide protection and treatment to at-risk groups, rather than setting an example of hatred and bigotry.”

via Tanzania: Police Abuse, Torture, Impede HIV Services | Human Rights Watch.

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Jamaica: Christians as victims if no law to imprison gays?

Posted on June 18, 2013 by
This is the photo of worshipers that accompanies the announcement of the Prayer 2000 march on the Encounter Gospel News blog.

This is the photo of worshipers that accompanies the announcement of the Prayer 2000 march on the Encounter Gospel News blog.

Anti-gay church leaders in Jamaica claim they will be the victims if Jamaican courts overturn the law that provides for up to 10 years in prison for male-male sexual relations.

In promoting an anti-gay march on June 23, they imagine a domino effect of victimization of Christians and Christian principles if the Jamaican buggery law is overturned. As quoted in the Jamaica Observer.com, the Rev. Dr. Naila L Ricketts said:

“Our constitutional rights to preach the truth of God’s word is also threatened and, should the law be repealed, what you and I preached may be termed hate speech and will make us criminally liable before the courts in Jamaica.

The removal of the buggery law may result in the legalisation of same-sex relationships and marriages, which would have far-reaching effects for us as a nation. …

For you as pastors and leaders, you may lose your freedom to preach the undiluted Word of God, you may no longer be able to stand with scripture on this moral issue of same-sex relationships – which the Lord clearly outlines, is an abomination to Him. …

This will open the way for homosexual curriculum to be taught to our children from an early age in our school system; that same sex relationships is normal and that it is a viable alternative for everyone.

Following that line of reasoning, Ricketts said the upcoming court challenge of the law, which allows imprisonment of gay men, is a “direct attack on our freedom.”

The consortium of conservative Christian leaders known as Prayer 2000 has invited all Jamaican churches to take part in a “peaceful prayer march” next Sunday, ahead of the hearing of an application challenging the constitutionality of the buggery law by the Supreme Court on June 25.

“This is our final chance, our final opportunity to make our voice be heard,” Ricketts said.

The legal challenge to the buggery law comes from Javed Jaghai, a young gay Jamaican who was evicted from his home after his landlady discovered his sexual orientation. The claim on his behalf was filed by United States-based advocacy group AIDS-Free World, which is asking the court to determine if the anti-sodomy law breaches rights guaranteed under the Jamaican Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, which was passed into law in 2011.

Jaghai’s approach to the dispute is more modest than that of Ricketts. He recently tweeted:

We’re asking you to be tolerant. You’re asking us to not exist. Who is really forcing who?

For more information, see the full Jamaica Observer article, “Church group plans big anti-gay march next Sunday.”

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Zimbabwe: Mugabe seeks life in prison for homosexuals

Posted on June 17, 2013 by
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has resume his verbal attacks on LGBT people, promising that he will make the country a “hell” for gays and lesbians if his Zanu PF party wins the July 31 election.

He proposed life sentences for homosexual activity, saying that the current law, which provides for up to a year in jail, is too lenient.

He also advocated tougher laws for child rapists and pedophiles — categories that he wrong-headedly lumps in with LGBT people.

NewsDay Zimbabwe reported on Mugabe’s speech yesterday at the Roman Catholic Church-run Bondolfi Teachers’ College’s graduation ceremony, in which Mugabe said he regretted that homosexuality still exists in Zimbabwe:

We do not have a culture of men marrying men or women marrying women. We cannot accept it, no, no, no. These things are taboo in our society.

After the polls, we will strengthen the law and make it really punitive and bitterly punishable for such people. At the moment, they get something like three months’ imprisonment.

They should rot in jail.

In the Herald‘s account of the speech, Mugabe called for prison sentences for anyone who enters into a same-sex marriage. That article quoted him as saying:

In countries like Britain you have some cases where churches like the Anglican solemnise gay marriages, a culture where a man marries another man. … That will never, ever happen here. We will not allow homosexuality. Never.

Mugabe, who has often called LGBT people “worse than pigs and dogs,” praised the Roman Catholic Church for its opposition to homosexuality.

Gay Star News reported the response to Mugabe’s speeches from Chesterfield Samba, head of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ):

Chesterfield Samba, director of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe

Chesterfield Samba, director of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe

Mugabe continues with his vitriolic attacks on gays as part of a strategy to try and cordon off Zimbabwe from the rest of the world and deflect pressure from Zimbabweans for him to embrace pluralism, multi-party democracy and the promotion of human rights culture.

Zanu Pf’s instruments of intimidation and electioneering, which include the subject of gays, remains as strong as ever and is once again being used as a red herring for the real woes in this country around good governance.

His outbursts have done much to highlight the dictatorial tendencies of his regime and the difficulties facing LGBT people throughout Zimbabwe.

Politically populist and outrageous statements such as these are undoubtedly going to characterize the upcoming elections with consequences to the LGBTI Community in Zimbabwe.

Chesterfield Samba, chair of the Gay and Lesbian Association of Zimbabwe, commented on the president’s anti-gay rant to GSN: ‘Mugabe continues with his vitriolic attacks on gays as part of a strategy to try and cordon off Zimbabwe from the rest of the world and deflect pressure from Zimbabweans for him to embrace pluralism, multi-party democracy and the promotion of human rights culture.

‘Zanu Pf’s instruments of intimidation and electioneering which include the subject of gays remains as strong as ever and is once again being used as a red herring for the real woes in this country around good governance.

‘His outbursts have done much to highlight the dictatorial tendencies of his regime and the difficulties facing LGBT people throughout Zimbabwe.

‘Politically populist and outrageous statements such as these are undoubtedly going to characterize the upcoming elections with consequences to the LGBTI Community in Zimbabwe.’

- See more at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/mugabe-promises-%E2%80%98hell-gays%E2%80%99-zimbabwe-if-he-wins170613#sthash.TfmIkMlI.dpuf

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Anti-AIDS programs ignore LGBTs in Africa

Posted on June 14, 2013 by
Albert Ogle

The Rev. Canon Albert Ogle

While the LGBT community globally struggles to find funds for basic human services and HIV prevention, we are discovering disturbing trends in the allocation of  United States funds to Christian fundamentalist organizations that are often in the front lines of encouraging the further criminalization of homosexuality.

My recent visit to Uganda uncovered a disturbing trend among religious NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that have agreed to serve the populations that are vulnerable to HIV infection, including LGBT and men who have sex with men (MSM).

These NGOs signed contracts with the U.S. government to serve them, but then  they use different definitions for vulnerable populations, excluding LGBT and MSM. There is no recourse when these contracts are not fulfilled.

A recent report from amfAR shows how much the same problem is affecting eight southern African countries (Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe).  The problem may be systemic in many of the countries we are supporting with PEPFAR and USAID funds, including Uganda.

LGBT Ugandans are currently excluded from receiving PEPFAR and USAID funding at any significant level to meet their needs.

* * *

Southern African countries included in May 2013 amfAR report.

Southern African countries included in May 2013 amfAR report.

The amfAR report found that, although LGBT people are at high risk of HIV infection, most PEPFAR program budgets “contained few dedicated funds” for them and “only 0.07 percent of all Global Fund resources for HIV were targeted to them.”

The amfAR press release about its report states:

Today amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research and the Center for Public Health and Human Rights (CPHHR) at The Johns Hopkins University jointly released a new report that provides the first ever comprehensive analysis of the financing and implementation of HIV programs for gay men, other men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender individuals in six countries. …

It emphasizes the role stigma and discrimination play in undermining the fight against HIV in the region.

In particular, the report highlights the negligible amount of funding provided by the two largest sources of international donor support for HIV: the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Despite clear policy commitments and recent progress in addressing the epidemic among this population, as of 2012 the majority of PEPFAR budgets contained few dedicated funds for these groups and only 0.07 percent of all Global Fund resources for HIV were targeted to them.

“This report shines a much-needed spotlight on the neglect of a population that is particularly vulnerable to HIV,” said amfAR CEO Kevin Robert Frost.  “If we want to effectively combat the HIV epidemic in this region, we must implement programs that address stigma and discrimination.”

“For years it was asserted that gay men and transgender people didn’t exist in Southern Africa, but that’s simply not true,” said Owen Ryan, amfAR’s deputy director of public policy and a lead author of the report.  “International donors have taken far too long to recognize and respond to HIV among these men and women.”

The recommendations of the amfAR report include:

  • National governments should decriminalize same-sex sexual practices and support programs that reduce stigma and discrimination against marginalized groups.
  • PEPFAR should institute clearer budgeting and reporting practices that make the implementation of national strategic plans and the allocation of resources more transparent.
  • The Global Fund should help countries reprogram existing grants to address the needs of GMT [gays, men who have sex with men, and transgender people] in the region and institute stronger accountability mechanisms to ensure that approved programs are actually implemented.
  • UNAIDS should improve the quality and scope of technical assistance it provides countries by increasing the number of staff with expert knowledge of issues related to key populations, particularly GMT.
  • All countries receiving international assistance for HIV should conduct biennial epidemiological surveillance that includes key populations, especially GMT.
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Jamaica: Evicted, gay man aims to overturn buggery law

Posted on June 14, 2013 by
Javed Jagahi

Javed Jagahi

Last year, Javed Jaghai, a young gay Jamaican, was evicted from his home by his landlady when she discovered his sexual orientation.  The landlady alleged that Javed’s homosexuality meant that he would be engaging in an illegal activity on the premises.  While homosexuality is not illegal in Jamaica, the country’s1864 British colonially imposed anti-buggery law criminalizes all acts of intimacy between men, even if they take place behind closed doors.

Javed has therefore filed the first-ever legal challenge to Jamaica’s anti-sodomy law, which will have the initial hearing on June 25.  Javed is seeking a court order that the law violates his rights to privacy and equality, which were significantly enhanced under the country’s 2011 Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms.

The hearing on June 25 was expected to be purely procedural: to settle such matters as the trial date and what forms of evidence would be admitted.  However, the religious group Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society (JCHS) has since applied to be joined as interested parties in the claim, on the ground that, inter alia, decriminalization of sodomy would adversely affect the freedom of religion of Jamaican Christians who would no longer be able condemn homosexuality as a sin.  jchs-logo-BIGGERThis argument is, of course, patently silly.  Christians can and do preach that many acts, such as adultery and pre-marital sex, are immoral, even though those activities have been legal for decades.  Another expressed concern of the JCHS is that churches will be forced to perform same-sex marriages.  Not only is this highly speculative and irrelevant to this claim, but the fact is that Anglican and Catholic churches do not perform marriages for divorced persons as that runs counter to their faith traditions.  Similarly, in jurisdictions that have recognized marriage equality, churches are allowed to decide if/when they wish to celebrate same-sex unions.

The full reasons the JCHS provides for opposing the decriminalization of sodomy are listed below:

1)    Homosexual activities would be facilitated and encouraged;
2)    It will not be long before marriages between two persons of the same sex will be facilitated, encouraged and adopted;
3)    The public promotion of the homosexual lifestyle will be permitted;
4)    The right to freedom of expression, to freedom of thought, conscience, and belief will be adversely affected;
5)    The right to seek, receive distribute or disseminate information, opinions, and ideas through any media will be adversely affected;
6)    The right to equality before the law will be adversely affected;
7)    The right to enjoy a healthy environment will be adversely affected;
8)    The right to respect for and protection of private and family life, and privacy of the home, will be adversely affected;
9)    The protection of privacy of communication will be adversely affected;
10)    The right to manifest and propagate religion in worship, teaching, practice, and observance will be adversely affected;
11)    The right to freedom from discrimination on the ground of religion will be adversely affected.

We fully intend to resist the application of the JCHS to be joined to this suit, as we find their arguments spurious and a waste of the court’s time.  We also feel that the Attorney General’s Chambers can and should be able to adequately represent their interest.  After all, the Solicitor General, who heads the AG’s Chambers, is a high-ranking member of the Lawyers Christian Fellowship, one of the groups that founded the JCHS.

It is also clear that the JCHS does not represent the views of many Christians when it comes to the issue of decriminalization of sodomy.  They certainly don’t represent the views of the island’s most established churches: the Anglican and Roman Catholic.

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Howard Gregory, Anglican bishop of Jamaica. (Photo courtesy of the Jamaica Gleaner)

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Howard Gregory, Anglican bishop of Jamaica. (Photo courtesy of the Jamaica Gleaner)

Appearing on the popular Jamaican radio programme “Beyond the Headlines” on April 26, 2013, the Anglican Lord Bishop of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, the. Rt. Rev. Dr. Howard Gregory, stated that the country’s 1864 British colonially imposed anti-buggery law should be repealed.

This statement is in line with one made by the spiritual head of the Anglican Church, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby during the June 3 same-sex marriage debate in the UK House of Lords.  While maintaining the church’s opposition to marriage equality, Archbishop Welby said:

“…[I]t is also absolutely true that the church has often not served the LGBT communities in the way it should. I express my sadness and sorrow for that considerable failure. There have been notable exceptions, such as my predecessor, the late Archbishop Ramsey, who vigorously supported decriminalisation in the 1960s. It is also necessary to express, as has been done already, total rejection of homophobic language, which is wrong and, more than that, sickening.”

The recently concluded national census indicated that only about 2.7 percent of Jamaica’s population identify as Anglicans.  However, on March 28, 2012, the Jamaica Observer reported that the Anglican Church is one of the island’s most powerful entities. The church founded several educational institutions, which have developed into some of Jamaica’s foremost centres of learning.  The Anglican Church also has major community outreach programmes, which have, over the years, benefited thousands of Jamaicans.  Several members of the country’s elite also belong to the church.  The church’s influence on shaping national policy therefore far outstrips the size of its population.

The support for decriminalization of private consensual same-gender intimacy is repeated by the Roman Catholic Church:

Since at least 2008, the Vatican has gone on record as calling for the elimination of anti-buggery laws.  At the 63rd session of the General Assembly of the United Nations on the Declaration of Human Rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, the Holy See stated its intention “to condemn all forms of violence against homosexual persons, as well as to urge all States to take necessary measures to put an end to all criminal penalties against them.”

In March of 2012, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaican-born Bishop Kenneth Richards, also supported decriminalization of buggery.  Bishop Richards said in an interview to the Antigua Observer that decriminalizing buggery would also help to reduce the discrimination against individuals perceived to be homosexual.

Most recently, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Dominica,
Bishop Gabriel Malzaire, has called for the elimination of criminal penalties for homosexuality and an end to “all forms of violence” against LGBT people.
Bishop Malzaire’s position, which he stated in Dominica News Online, is consistent with the Catholic Church’s overall position.  He said:

Bishop Gabriel Malzaire

Bishop Gabriel Malzaire

I wish to make it clear that the Catholic Church in Dominica adheres to the call of the Holy See in its statement to the 63rd session of the General Assembly of the United Nations on the Declaration of Human Rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, “to condemn all forms of violence against homosexual persons as well as to urge all States to take necessary measures to put an end to all criminal penalties against them. …”

The Catholic Church maintains that free sexual acts between adult persons must not be treated as crimes to be punished by civil authorities.

In light of the foregoing, and mindful of the strict vow of obedience that Catholic churches around the world have to the Holy See, I would expect that the Catholic Church in Jamaica similarly supports a repeal of Jamaica’s anti-buggery law.  Two weeks ago we wrote to the Archbishop of Kingston who heads the most powerful Roman Catholic diocese in Jamaica, to get clarification on the Jamaican Roman Catholic church’s views on decriminalization.  The Archbishop advised that he will provide a response.

One reason for maintaining a law that infringes on the rights of others is to protect public morality. This is certainly not the case with the anti-buggery law.  It is certainly clear that getting rid of the provisions in the law that criminalize private acts of intimacy between consenting adults, would do no violence to the sense of morality of well-thinking Jamaican Christians.  Therefore, a few fanatical fundamentalists as represented by the JCHS should not be allowed to hold the country to ransom in their desperate desire to discriminate.  We fully expect the court will agree with us on this point.

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