Evangelical Christians block proposed protections for LGBT Haitians
Haitian pastors stymie a planned new penal code that would have outlawed LGBTphobic bias.
A new Haitian penal code was scheduled to come into force on June 24, but it was postponed indefinitely under pressure from evangelical Christians, who do not support a prohibition against all forms of discrimination, particularly anti-LGBT+ bias..
The document would have been the first revision of the penal code in 190 years (since 1835). The goal of revising the penal code was to adapt it to the realities and democratic demands of the modern world and to shore up the authority of the beleaguered Haitian government, which has lost control of the nation’s gang-ridden capital,
The delay in implementing the new penal code was a victory for Grégory Toussaint of the Tabernacle of Glory, a Protestant evangelical church in Miami. A Haitian native, he urged the new transitional Haitian authorities to put a halt to the planned reform. (Toussaint should not be confused with another Greg Toussaint, the misogynistic ex-YouTuber who has been shut down by the French LGBT association Stop Homophobie,)
The planned modernization of the penal code stemmed from a 2020 decree issued by then president Jovenel Moïse, who was assassinated in July 2021.
The new plan, supported by Toussaint, is for the future parliament to ratify the penal code by 2026, at the end of a two-year transition period during which law and order are supposed to be restored.
During this period, religious leaders’ views should be heard and substantial amendments made, according to Jean Renel Sénatus, a homophobic local political figure.
Sénatus opposed the proposal penal code, claiming that it is “is a copy of a Western penal code that does not conform to the aspirations of the Haitian people”.
A fight for the right to discriminate
Among the portions of the new penal code that conservative pastors criticize is Article 362, which defines discrimination as “any distinction made between natural persons” or “between legal entities” “on the grounds of their origin, sex, family status, physical appearance, patronymic, state of health, disability, genetic characteristics, morals, genetic characteristics, their morals, their sexual orientation, their age, their political opinions, their trade union activities, their actual or supposed membership or non-membership of a particular ethnic group, nation, race or religion”.
They also oppose Articles 363 and 699, which specify punishments for discrimination:
Article 363 provides for prison sentences of “1 to 3 years”, as well as fines of “50,000 to 75,000 gourdes” (about US $380 to $570, or 350 to 523 euros) for any perpetrator of discrimination as defined in Article 362.
Article 699 specifies harsher punishments for people acting on behalf of a public authority who commit discrimination. For them, the maximum fine is 100,000 gourdes (US $760, or 700 euros), plus up to 3 years’ imprisonment.
None of those provisions are currently in force because Pastor Grégory Toussaint has succeeded in keeping the penal code of 1835 in effect.
A fight putting LGBT+ people at risk
Toussaint has also targeted articles in the proposed new penal code that would punish anti-LGBT violence. These proposed articles, which he opposes, are:
Article 248 – Murder would be punishable by life imprisonment when it is committed because of the victim’s sexual orientation.
Article 274 and 275 – Violence resulting in permanent mutilation or permanent disability would be punishable by a prison sentence of 10 to 15 years and a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 gourdes (US $380 to $760, or 350 to 700 euros) when committed because of the victim’s sexual orientation.
Article 278 – Violence resulting in a victim’s inability to work for eight days or less would be punished by three to six months in prison and a fine of 10,000 to 25,000 gourdes (about US $76 to $189, or 70 to 143 euros) when committed because of the victim’s sexual orientation.
Article 298 – Rape would be punishable by 15 to 20 years’ imprisonment when committed because of the victim’s sexual orientation.
How can a Christian Pastor be against making it a crime to murder, mutilate, or rape, another person based on their sexual orientation. By opposing such laws, Toussiant is endorsing such reprehensible and violent actions. He obviously does not know what Jesus meant when he responded to the Pharisees to prevent the stoning of Mary Magdalene: “He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone.” Toussaint needs to study Jesus’ own words.