Barbados will not be dictated to by Britain or any other when it comes to homosexuality laws, says Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite.
He told the DAILY NATION last night that the country’s laws were clear on this issue and would not be changed because of British threats.
The Attorney General was reacting to comments by Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron at the just concluded Commonwealth Heads Of Government Summit in Australia, where he said those countries receiving British aid should “adhere to proper human rights”, including the reform of legislation banning homosexuality.
But Brathwaite said the attempt to link international aid to the changing of homosexual laws was “unfortunate”. He was adamant that Barbados’ position on homosexuality was not for sale and its legislative agenda would be determined at home. (SP/KJ)
Above is the gist of an article in the Nation Newspaper.
No country should be bullied into changing their laws. (Please inform the U.S) As a 'soveriegn' nation I am proud that we have decided to stand firm by those beliefs. However, the situation at hand has nothing to do with soverienty or bullying, it's simply a question of Human Rights.
Barbados' stance on homosexuality needs to be reviewed, whether or not threats by the U.K are made.
If it is that we need to wait a while to send a message against bullying and pressuring by United Kingdom, so be it. However the situation still remains in need of review and careful consideration. Infringing on the rights of two consenting adults is quite similar to the school of thought that prevented inter-racial marraiges and relations. It is not required of us to declare our recognition of gay marraiges (just yet) but instead for the decriminalisation of the law against homosexual acts.
It is necessary for social development that as times change we must learn to adapt and change with it but with careful consideration (similar to technological changes). As with heterosexual marriages in Barbados as time passed the law made provision to allow for common law marriages to cater to society's changing norms where couples started families without actually being married. Why then, (not that homosexuality has now arrived) don't we adapt and change as we have in the past.
He told the DAILY NATION last night that the country’s laws were clear on this issue and would not be changed because of British threats.
The Attorney General was reacting to comments by Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron at the just concluded Commonwealth Heads Of Government Summit in Australia, where he said those countries receiving British aid should “adhere to proper human rights”, including the reform of legislation banning homosexuality.
But Brathwaite said the attempt to link international aid to the changing of homosexual laws was “unfortunate”. He was adamant that Barbados’ position on homosexuality was not for sale and its legislative agenda would be determined at home. (SP/KJ)
Above is the gist of an article in the Nation Newspaper.
No country should be bullied into changing their laws. (Please inform the U.S) As a 'soveriegn' nation I am proud that we have decided to stand firm by those beliefs. However, the situation at hand has nothing to do with soverienty or bullying, it's simply a question of Human Rights.
Barbados' stance on homosexuality needs to be reviewed, whether or not threats by the U.K are made.
If it is that we need to wait a while to send a message against bullying and pressuring by United Kingdom, so be it. However the situation still remains in need of review and careful consideration. Infringing on the rights of two consenting adults is quite similar to the school of thought that prevented inter-racial marraiges and relations. It is not required of us to declare our recognition of gay marraiges (just yet) but instead for the decriminalisation of the law against homosexual acts.
