Jamaica's anti-gay law is up for parliamentary review
June 6, 2014
Colin Stewart
Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…
Jamaican legislators likely will review the nation’s anti-gay law as part of a legally required examination of laws related to sexual offenses.
“There is a provision for reviewing the Sexual Offences Act every five years, and the Act was promulgated in 2009,” Justice Minister Sen. Mark Golding said, as quoted in the anti-gay Jamaica Observer.
Golding said the review was not a covert attempt at changing Jamaica’s anti-sodomy law, but he acknowledged that a review of that colonial-era law, known as the Buggery Law, would likely be included.
A likely focus of the review will be the law’s effect on public health programs, including the battle against HIV/AIDS, because as the Observer stated, “the buggery provisions … are considered by some groups to be hampering efforts to deal effectively with these diseases.” In fact, that opinion is widely shared by anti-AIDS experts, although perhaps the Observer and definitely conservative Christian leaders wish it weren’t.
For more information, see the full Jamaica Observer article: “Buggery could dominate review of sex laws.”
“There is a provision for reviewing the Sexual Offences Act every five years, and the Act was promulgated in 2009,” Justice Minister Sen. Mark Golding said, as quoted in the anti-gay Jamaica Observer.
Golding said the review was not a covert attempt at changing Jamaica’s anti-sodomy law, but he acknowledged that a review of that colonial-era law, known as the Buggery Law, would likely be included.
A likely focus of the review will be the law’s effect on public health programs, including the battle against HIV/AIDS, because as the Observer stated, “the buggery provisions … are considered by some groups to be hampering efforts to deal effectively with these diseases.” In fact, that opinion is widely shared by anti-AIDS experts, although perhaps the Observer and definitely conservative Christian leaders wish it weren’t.
For more information, see the full Jamaica Observer article: “Buggery could dominate review of sex laws.”
Related articles
- Jamaican paper pushes gay marriage; should gays worry?
- Jamaica Folding Under Pressure of Powerful Gay-Rights Lobby, Former Prime Minister Says
- The Buggery Debate – Global Context
- Lawyer: Jamaican Prime Minister has betrayed gay voters by refusing to lift buggery law
- Jamaica: Evicted, gay man aims to overturn sodomy law
- Jamaica gets ‘nudge’ toward repeal of anti-LGBT laws
- Protest adds to Jamaican debates about homosexuality