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English court set to rule on final challenge to Trinidad’s gay sex ban
Five judges in London could rule this week on whether Trinidad and Tobago’s colonial-era buggery laws violate constitutional rights.
- The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London began hearing a landmark case challenging Trinidad and Tobago colonial-era "buggery" laws, which criminalize gay sex and carry potential five-year prison sentences.
- Jason Jones filed the challenge in 2017, arguing the laws are unconstitutional; Jones, who is 61, left the country in 1996 citing homophobic discrimination and violence.
- Opposing Jones are the Trinidad and Tobago government, the Council of Evangelical Churches, and the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, while supporters argue criminalizing gay sex compounds stigma, preventing young people from seeking essential health and support services.
- Activists across the Caribbean are closely watching the outcome, which could set a precedent for the largely conservative region, though the five judges face no deadline to decide.
- Recently, courts in Barbados, Dominica, Lucia, and Antigua and Barbuda struck down similar laws; however, gay sex remains a crime in Grenada, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Vincent and the Grenadines.
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UK appeals court begins hearing over activist’s 10-year fight against Trinidad’s gay sex ban
A U.K. appeals court began proceedings on Wednesday over the country of Trinidad and Tobago’s colonial-era gay sex ban that remains in effect today. The lawsuit was brought in 2017 by LGBTQ+ activist Jason Jones, who argued that Sections 13 and 16 of the country’s Sexual Offenses Act are “irrational and illegal” because they violate the rights to privacy and freedom of expression. Related Senegal amends Constitution to ban same-sex marriage am…
·San Francisco, United States
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Trinidad and Tobago’s anti-gay laws to be challenged in landmark London appeal
Five Caribbean LGBTQ+ organisations, including Colours Caribbean, have been granted permission to intervene in the case The post Trinidad and Tobago’s anti-gay laws to be challenged in landmark London appeal appeared first on Attitude.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources25
Leaning Left13Leaning Right3Center7Last UpdatedBias Distribution57% Left
Bias Distribution
- 57% of the sources lean Left
57% Left
L 57%
C 30%
13%
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