REUTERS
Filipino lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders rally in the Philippines late last year.
Howard Campbell, and Gareth Manning, Gleaner Writers
WHILE CHURCH leaders and the Lawyers Christian Fellowship walked away with some satisfaction last week at being allowed a say in proposals to amend the Constitution, members of a local gay rights group are upset they have not been granted similar privileges. In addition, the Jamaican Forum for Lesbians, Allsexuals and Gays (J-FLAG) accuses the church of wanting to invade people's right to privacy and to impose its religious beliefs on others.
Garth Williams, co-chairman of J-FLAG, said the decision by the Joint Select Committee of Parliament reviewing the Charter of Rights Bill to grant other groups permission to make submissions, places homosexuals at greater risk in a country where they are already under threat.
"We are alarmed at how the wider society is looking at the issue as it regards rights to privacy, and the fact that homosexuals are again being singled out to be the target," said Mr. Williams last week. "I don't think the right to privacy speaks exclusively to gay men or any group but to all citizens in Jamaica."
AMENDMENTS
During the February 10 sitting of the Joint Select Committee, chairman Senator A.J. Nicholson said amendments to the Constitution would not sanction same-sex marriage or any act of homosexuality. But church leaders and the Lawyers Christian Fellowship took issue with what they claimed was the vague wording of sections of the Charter, particularly the clause in Section 13 that speaks to the "respect for private and family life, (and) privacy for home."
They said it could be interpreted as opening the way for legalising homosexual acts and abortion, as well as forcing a ban on prayer in schools.
Initially, Senator Nicholson refused to hear from the groups saying it would drag out a process that started in 1991. But on Thursday, he softened his stance and agreed to hear submissions from the groups when the committee meets again on March 8.
"The church has always wanted to take away from us as gays and lesbians who we are and what our identity is," spokesperson for the group Gareth Williams told The Sunday Gleaner.
"The church is taking a stance which is biased and particularly in their favour. What I want to ask them is: What is it that they will be putting on the table as regards the creation of a society that speaks to inclusion and basic human rights of all its citizens?" he added.
RIGHTS
He reiterated that the Charter of Rights is intended to protect all human beings regardless of sexual orientation. He says the church is infringing on the right to privacy of gays and lesbians by excluding them. "So now, if our rights are going to be protected and we have privacy within the confines of our homes, they shouldn't have a problem with that."
He says despite arguments put forward by the Church, homosexuality is not illegal in Jamaica; it is buggery that is criminal. Buggery is described in Section 76 of the Offences Against the Person Act as anal intercourse with any human being or beast. A person charged with the offence may be sentenced up to 10 years in prison with hard labour.
The laws of the country do not entirely prevent homosexuals from forming legal bonds either. While same-sex marriages are illegal in the country, homosexuals can form legal partnerships that give one surviving partner full rights to the other's assets when he or she is dead.
