From Reuters:
“Saint Kitts ban on gay sex
struck down by Caribbean regional court”
A Caribbean regional court has
ruled that a Saint Kitts and Nevis prohibition on gay sex is unconstitutional
because it violates the right to privacy, striking down one of a handful of
bans on same-sex intercourse that still exist in the region. The Eastern
Caribbean Supreme Court ruled against two portions of the Offences Against the
Person Act, adopted in the dual-island nation in 1873, which called for up to
ten years imprisonment for having or attempting to have gay sex. The law's
statutes criminalising gay sex are inconsistent with the constitution
"and, as such, (are) null and void and of no force and effect," wrote
High Court Judge Trevor M. Ward in a decision dated Aug. 29. The suit was brought
by Jamal Jeffers, a gay man from the Caribbean nation, and a non-profit
organisation called Saint Kitts and Nevis Alliance for Equality. The country's
attorney general, the defendant in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to
a request for comment. The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court hears disputes
involving members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, which
includes six independent countries and three overseas British territories. Buggery
laws remain on the books in a number of Caribbean nations including Jamaica and
Barbados. Though they are rarely enforced, gay rights activists say that
eliminating them would help ease pervasive homophobia.
^ While I am happy to hear that
the Ban on Gay Sex is now ended here it is sad that Saint Kitts didn’t end the
Ban themselves - they had to be forced
to by an outside Court. ^
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.