It’s just been a matter of weeks since we wrote Being Gay is still ILLEGAL in 35 Countries in the British Commonwealth we are happy to report that number has seen a small, but significant decrease.
This past monday the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court struck down sections 56 and 57 of the Offences Against The Person Act which banned the “abominable crime” of “buggery”. This Judgment meant that homosexuality is now no longer a crime on the nation islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis. They had been among the first islands in the Caribbean to be colonized by the British, bringing with them centuries-old laws that outlawed homosexuality.
Kenita Placide, executive director of the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality (ECADE), said. “This is a transformative journey and a step to full recognition of LGBTQ persons across the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States,”
There are still other countries in the Caribbean region where homosexuality is still a crime :
Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica , (where it is legally punishable by imprisonment, torture, vigilante executions, and vigilante beatings) Grenada, Guyana, (a possible punishment of life imprisonment) Saint Lucia. and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
On the other side of the globe Singapore another member country of the British Commonwealth also finally moved to rid itself of one of its final vestiges of colonialism. Its Government repealed a very old law that bans gay sex, effectively making it legal to be homosexual in the city-state.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said they would abolish the law as he believed “this is the right thing to do, and something that most Singaporeans will accept“.
He noted that “gay people are now better accepted” and scrapping 377A would bring the country’s laws in line with “current social mores, and I hope, provide some relief to gay Singaporeans”.
The country is still ultra-conservative and the coalition of LGBT rights groups celebrating a “hard-won victory and a triumph of love over fear“, also expressed concern over another announcement Mr Lee made in the same speech.
He had said the government would ensure better legal protection for the definition of marriage as one between a man and a woman. This would effectively make it harder for gay marriage to be legalized.
