There are renewed calls to repeal the buggery law of colonial times which has been deemed to be prejudicial and supportive of discrimination against gay citizens.
The calls were made on Monday at the launch of Intimate Conviction 2 at the St Michael Cathedral. The book is a compilation of presentations delivered at an international online conference of 2020 which addressed decriminalisation of laws and their negative impact on members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community.
Convenor of the book launch, Reverend Clifford Hall, said: “We are a republic. It is time for a change.”
He described the buggery legislation as “nasty”. It was noted that while the law provides a maximum sentence of ten years for people having sex with animals, for buggery the maximum sentence was life in prison.
Attorney at law Lalu Hanuman told a small gathering for the launch: “The homophobia that exists in the Caribbean can be directly traced to the legacy of slavery.
“Enslaved gay persons would place the slave owner at a great financial disadvantage as the gay enslaved would not contribute to restocking. So gayness would have been strongly opposed.” (HH)
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