By Dennie Quill, ContributorAS AMERICAN courts and the legislature pick their way through the minefield of the gay marriage issue in an election year, the debate has been largely ignored in our part of the world. Nearly 3,000 same sex couples were married in California in one week this month, and all over America gay and lesbian advocates are waging a battle to have their unions recognised.
As the debate gets into high gear, intense arguments are being issued on either side. There are the moralists with deep-seated religious convictions, who say that marriage should be limited to the union of a man and woman, while others feel that discrimination of all kinds is wrong, and homosexual couples should be treated no differently from heterosexual.
Is it is not uncommon to hear people refer to homosexuals as being 'sick'. Well hear this, homosexuality has been removed from the list of disorders by mainstream professional psychological organisations in America. According to the American Psychological Association, homosexuality was once thought to be a mental illness, because mental health professionals and society had biased information.
The United States is known for continually widening its circle of rights, including the landmark battle that ended in a Supreme Court ruling in Virginia in 1967 that the right to marry could not be restricted by race. The widening circle has included blacks, disabled people, immigrants and other minorities and is bound to enfold homosexuals. The line is being drawn on the right to be different, so conceivably there will come a time if a woman wants to marry her dog she will be allowed to do so in the name of being different.
From all indications, it seems inevitable that gay marriages will be a cultural reality in the very near future. So why should Jamaica's government and its people be concerned about these developments?
For one, America is legitimising a lifestyle that majority of Jamaicans oppose. Interestingly, a recent study by the Pew Center in the US found that 60% of Americans are against same-sex marriages.
For another, Jamaica still has the antiquated sodomy law on its books. And although it applies to both homosexual and heterosexual couples, usually it is the homosexuals who are targeted. There are fewer than 20 States that still have sodomy laws for, in many cases, legislatures have repealed the laws or they have been declared unconstitutional by the courts. When the state of Texas struck down the sodomy law in June 2003, after two gay lovers were arrested in their homes, the ruling in effect decided that anal/oral sex or any kind of sexual act, when done by consenting adults is morally equivalent to the conjugal act. That's pretty heavy stuff for a homophobic society like ours to digest.
There was talk once about decriminalising sodomy in Jamaica, the idea quickly evaporated after homosexual opponents starting spewing bile at the prospects of this macho country getting soft and legitimising homosexuality.
Ask the average Jamaican why he opposes homosexuality and he may say something like: "it no right" or "man and man, woman and woman, no sah, how you get children?" Others may argue that the legalisation of gay marriages will further undermine the institution of marriage.
I have heard opponents say that marriage is the institution that ensures society's future development through the nurturing of children. Realistically that doesn't apply to Jamaica because hundreds of children are being reared in single-family homes, divorces are rife, "man have woman in a bungle" and children in heaps and the family structure is in tatters.
Some years ago my niece attended boarding school in the US and in her second year the Dean of discipline was a lesbian, living with her partner and rearing a little girl. Coming from Jamaica it took my niece sometime to adjust to this situation. However. Her perspective of the world changed dramatically after that experience, in that she is far more tolerant of differences in people. But is there a point at which we draw the line? Or will the minority continue to hold sway over the majority?
A large number of North Americans visit Jamaican each year and they are the mainstay of the tourism industry. Many come here to get married, while others spend their honeymoon in paradise. My concern is how do our hotel administrators and workers deal with consenting adults whose bedroom conduct runs counter to Jamaican law and is considered illegal?
And when these married couples are refused entry to our hotels or we label these lovers, criminals, what are the repercussions for Jamaica?
The tourism industry of the Caribbean should see this as an important issue for the key players to meet and find consensus, because the unilateral action of one territory may result in too many ruffled feathers flying in the wind, or worse.
Dennie Quill is a veteran journalist who may be contacted via e-mail at denniequill@hotmail.com.
