Dear Editor,
While the American citizen would have been contemplating his attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, the homophobic in the Caribbean, and those who are scared of the homophobic were maintaining the so called morality of discriminatory laws and norms which enable the rage against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens.
Jamaican Maurice Tomlinson challenged the laws of Belize and of Trinidad & Tobago which discriminate against homosexual visitors. The resulting judgment of the Caribbean Court of Justice has said that homosexuals should freely move within the Caribbean as other citizens, but the laws are okay. Colin Robinson, of Coalition Advocating for Inclusion of Sexual Orientation (CAISO) in Trinidad has said that the judgment leaves homosexuals as “unapprehended outlaws”. Essentially, the laws will remain on the books, and it will be up to the state authorities to decide how to apply them.
In the Bahamas, the fear of ‘same sex marriage’ played a role in the rejection of laws which aimed for gender equality. The homophobia continued in that the proposed bill sought to eliminate intersex from the definition of sex, but that did not seem to appease the righteous.
Belizean citizen Caleb Orozco continues to wait on the judgment in the case he brought to challenge the homophobic legislation of Belize. The case was heard in May 2013.
There is no guarantee that any of the judgments which leave LGBT citizens as ‘unapprehended outlaws’ will protect rights. Magistrate Dylon Bess refused transgender citizen Twinkle access to the court because he wanted Twinkle to “dress like a man”.
This is despite a ruling in Guyana’s courts which said that cross-dressing was okay except when the state said it was for an “improper purpose”. The Magistrate has not explained why he thought attending court would be an ‘improper purpose’. The authorities have not demanded that he do so.
The American citizen with the legally purchased assault rifle fulfilled the fantasies expressed in the music of the Caribbean. The minibus drivers and the deejays who broadcast the calls of “We nah want no chi chi man” and “Bun dem” must be celebrating. There are mutterings and postings about people of deep or no religious persuasion that the attacks were deserved. Pulse must be for those who want to love the sinner and hate the sin, the epitome of their interpretation of Sodom and Gomorrah.
The righteous will rage and say, love the sinner and hate the sin. They fail to realise how that theology does not work in a place where there is a high tolerance for violence and homophobic violence. The cynics will remark that the US with its gay marriage and so did not offer protection. The politicians who have paid lip service to change probably are scared about which should come first, cultural change or legal change?
“We really not into the fish thing around here … you don’t see seh nobody not crying about it,” is how one Jamaican citizen reportedly remarked on the murder of Orville Lorne and another man in Montego Bay, Jamaica a few weeks ago (Jamaica Gleaner May 27) . And the Attorney General of Jamaica though, perhaps in a more nuanced version of not being into the fish thing, tweeted, in her personal capacity, that the flying of the rainbow flag on the United States Embassy constituted disrespect for Jamaican laws, even though she was opposed to the murders in Orlando.
People might say, oh there are no mass murders of gays in Guyana and the Caribbean. But there are murders and beatings and threats to lives and livelihoods which do not attract media attention because they are ‘one-one.’ There is discrimination which cannot be reported for fear of further discrimination. Some LGBT citizens might be protected by class privilege or political affiliation. Most though, have to find ways of dealing with their place in the sun as ‘unapprehended outlaws’.
In Guyana, the major political parties at the last elections made manifesto promises to deal with discrimination against LGBT citizens. Yet, those who have maintained the agenda to keep the discriminatory laws have been rewarded with parliamentary and other state-funded positions. And there has been no further work done on changing the laws.
There cannot be real equality in Guyana and the Caribbean as long as a pretence is maintained that ‘lovers of the sinners and haters of the sin’ can condemn the murders in Orlando without condemning the laws, ideologies and theologies that resulted in the purchase and use of the assault rifle.
Yours faithfully,
Vidyaratha Kissoon
