Jamaica: Bad place to be gay just got worse

Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding has never been shy about his position on homosexuality. Last year, before his Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) won the general election that catapulted him to office, Golding made it "very clear" that he would not support any change in legislation that "overturn[ed] tradition and culture in the interest of... individual freedoms and to do so at the instance of the homosexual fraternity, which comprises a minority in the population." Last week, on a visit to Britain, Golding again made waves when he told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that he would not allow gay people into his Cabinet. "That's a decision that I make. A prime minister must decide what he feels would represent to the Jamaican people a Cabinet of ministers who would be able to discharge their functions without fear, without favor and without intimidation. I've made that choice," he said. Again he insisted that "Jamaica is not going to allow values to be imposed on it from outside." In response, the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (JFLAG) criticized Golding's refusal to engage in any dialog with the local gay community. "We perceive the dragging of this issue into the discussion as a smokescreen that distracts from the real challenges of how as a society we grapple with the violence and hostility that have come to define our engagements around controversial but important sociocultural issues," JFLAG's program manager, Jason McFarlene, said in a statement. McFarlene added that Golding's stance could bring a negative international reaction. "He seems to have an understanding regarding the issue of what we have termed the culturally-sanctioned violence against the gay community here, but there is also a concern as to whether he appreciates the seriousness as to Jamaica's stance and to how that is perceived by the rest of the world," McFarlene said. In recent months, a number of Jamaica's leading entertainers, such as Shabba Ranks and Buju Banton, who have openly bashed gays and lesbians in their music, have been blacklisted in Europe and North America for their songs promoting violence against gays. The New York-based Human Rights Watch and other groups complain of the weak efforts by Jamaican authorities, including the police, to protect the rights of gays and lambaste the fact that sex between males remains a crime here. On Valentine's Day this year, leaders of the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) in Florida staged a demonstration outside the Jamaican consulate in Miami over what they said was a series of anti-gay murders and gay-bashing incidents in the island. Church members also protested in New York, Toronto and Philadelphia. The MCC, a worldwide assembly of gay, lesbian and transsexual congregants, said they were prepared to push for a boycott of Jamaican tourism if the country fails to deal with reported attacks on gays. "Jamaica and Mr. Golding can expect further pressure from the international community," warned the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper in an editorial after the prime minister's appearance on the BBC, adding "a potentially unintended consequence of Mr. Golding's trenchant statement is that people interpret it as vindication of homophobic and anti-gay violence and for the liberation of the voyeurs". Meanwhile, most local church leaders continue to insist that homosexuality is morally wrong. "Homosexuality is wrong from every possible angle. It's immoral from a physical, social and spiritual standpoint," said Rev. Dr. Merrick 'Al' Miller, pastor of the Fellowship Tabernacle. One respected newspaper columnist, Barbara Cloudon, stressed that the issue of sexual preference is not one which is taken lightly here. "We have an almost primeval fear of homosexual behavior, even as we resent being labeled for our attitude. Even the un-churched will quote the scriptures to support the contention that those who choose such a lifestyle should be cast into outer darkness. Some have taken the injunction literally, with deadly results, leaving us with a reputation for homophobia -- which we stoutly deny," she wrote. Last November, education officials reacted quickly to quell fears among teachers and parents that it had endorsed a school textbook which discussed same-sex unions and homosexuality. The book by Rita Dyer and Norma Maynard, "C-SEC Home Economics and Beyond (Management)", included a section suggesting that there has been a "broadening of the traditional definitions of a family structure" and that "when two women or two men live together in a relationship as lesbians or gays, they may be considered as a family". Education Minister Andrew Holness angrily denied media reports that the book was recommended reading by his ministry. "We want to make it absolutely clear that the Ministry of Education does not endorse or support the teaching of homosexual relationships as the accepted standard of family. We don't teach it and we don't recommend it," Holness said in a statement.