From madns to mastream - “Gay rights” Guyana, Part I - Stabroek News

Contents:

• FROM MADNS TO MASTREAM – “GAY RIGHTS” GUYANA, PART I
• FROM MADNS TO MASTREAM – “GAY RIGHTS” GUYANA (PART 2)
• ACTIVISTS NMN VLENCE AGAST LGBTQ MUNY ST. VCENT, WHERE GAY SEX IS ILLEGAL
• GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT
• HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: ANTI-GAY LAWS PROMOTE VLENCE, DISCRIMATN ST. VCENT
• CHRISTIAN AND LGBT GROUPS HAVE BROUGHT THE BATTLE FOR GAY RIGHTS TO THE CARIBBEAN
• GLOBALGAYZ: THE BOOK

FROM MADNS TO MASTREAM – “GAY RIGHTS” GUYANA, PART I

Homosexualy⚢✖ Male illegal, female uncertaCensorship✔ No censorshipNon-bary genr regnn✖ Not legally regnizedDiscrimatn✖ No protectnsEmployment Discrimatn✖ No protectnsHog Discrimatn✖ No protectnsConversn Therapy✖ Not banned. Achievg equal rights, non-discrimatn and protectn om vlence and abe for lns of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, tersex, and queer (LGBTIQ+) persons has been a remarkable journey of urage, solidary, and activism sce the adoptn of the Universal Declaratn of Human Rights. One of the first movements began June 1969 when persons took to the streets to prott police raids at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar New York Cy.

One of the raids sparked six days of rts, now known as the Stonewall Rts, which bolstered the gay rights movement the Uned Stat and around the world.

FROM MADNS TO MASTREAM – “GAY RIGHTS” GUYANA (PART 2)

Over the years, nsistent advocy and public monstratns have led to discsns on gay rights that eventually triggered chang perceptns and attus towards LGBTIQ+ persons.

Some of the UN’s actns range om the classifitn of homosexualy as a mental disorr by the World Health Organizatn 1990, to UN rolutns adopted to protect agast vlence and discrimatns, to supportg ernment amendments of natnal nstutns. Decrimalizg homosexualy is a cril first step to protect the rights of LGBTIQ + persons and facilate fairns and equaly before the law.

ACTIVISTS NMN VLENCE AGAST LGBTQ MUNY ST. VCENT, WHERE GAY SEX IS ILLEGAL

By Vidyaratha Kissoon(2013 is an tertg year the Caribbean for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and tersex (LGBTI) equaly. In 2002, a Universy of Guyana Social Work stunt, Clayton Newman, cid to do some rearch on young gay men he met Geetown, which he agreed to share wh persons who were terted activism.

GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT

While crics of the ‘gay rights’ movement like to say that is ‘Northern’ and ‘Imperialist’, the movement Guyana uld most likely be said to have been spired by events South Ai and April 2003, the first public fom was anised on Sexual Orientatn as a Fundamental Right, and May 2003, the polil parti agreed to rtore the discsn about sexual orientatn wh all of the other rights bills that had been important velopment durg this time was the Universy of Guyana stunts, who cid to mpaign for the cln of sexual orientatn as a fundamental right Guyana’s nstutn. The Roman Catholic church Guyana issued a posn 2001 opposg discrimatn any form while statg their objectn to gay marriage.

By Vidyaratha Kissoon2013 is an tertg year the Caribbean for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and tersex (LGBTI) equaly.

In 2004, Caribbean and other LGBTI activists, ncerned wh the growg populary of homophobic lyrics, iated the ‘Stop Murr Mic’ Campaign to brg prsure to bear on private and public sector groups the Caribbean, North Ameri and Europe to rpond to the lyrics.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: ANTI-GAY LAWS PROMOTE VLENCE, DISCRIMATN ST. VCENT

Guyane joed the mpaign by wrg to the Ethnic Relatns Commissn sce they believed “that sexual orientatn is one of the forms of diversy a plural society and that therefore the ERC holds a nstutnal mandate to enurage rpect for the rights of gay and lbian people Guyana. SASOD’s work and imagativens reflect the bt Caribbean polil and cultural tradns and they make me proud to be a gay Caribbean man. McIntosh beme the first Caribbean legal scholar to speak to the need chang, an article published the Barbados Advote “Homosexualy: A nstutnal qutn” while he was Dean of the Faculty of Law at UWI Cave Hill.

In November, 2005, the recently opened Oasis Cafe agreed to host an eveng of “Readgs om the Spectm: Lbian and Gay Wrgs”. Whenever Print Jago was asked about the issue of law reform, his rponse was always amed the posn of ‘no discrimatn’ even as he remaed non-mtal on law March 2011, Cabet Secretary Dr Luncheon noted “Cabet reflected on social rpons to homosexualy and reerated s posn of not supportg discrimatn of those whose sexual orientatn offend ntemporary social norms and also nsequently any advocy of such liftyl.

A statement om the Christian Communy Guyana on the proposed crimalisatn of Homosexualy not that “We also believe … that we are lled to embrace and reflect God’s love and passn for humany as outled the Bible which mands that we reject the acts of vlence and hostily meted out to some homosexuals and other attus or actns that value and dimish our humany as God tend. ” The statement affirms addn that “…It is evint that homosexualy is an offense to relign, moraly and public nvenience…”. The goal of LGBTI activism is to create a society which LGBTI persons have equal accs to tn, hog, jobs, health, police protectn, and equal opportuni to participate muny and natnal are cynics who will speak about ‘homosexuals high plac’ who face no discrimatn.

CHRISTIAN AND LGBT GROUPS HAVE BROUGHT THE BATTLE FOR GAY RIGHTS TO THE CARIBBEAN

A gay teacher livg a ral area Guyana said recently he did not have much fah laws, and was lookg stead at fundamental chang the tn of regular people. In April 2013, I vised the Weddg Expo and ed the opportuny to poll on the issue of gay marriage. Vcent and the Grenad, where gay sex is still homelsns to ongog physil and verbal abe, the gay muny the small natn of some 100, 000 people says is unr nstant threat.

While rarely voked, the rights group and a lol activist said the laws help legimize hostily and abe agast gay people.

GLOBALGAYZ: THE BOOK

Vcent who are livg abroad filed a se to challenge lol laws crimalizg gay sex that activists say should be stck down. ”Human Rights Watch terviewed more than 20 members of the island’s LGBTQ muny who shared their stori but were not intified to protect them, notg that lol police are often openly discrimatory toward gay people who seek help. Several reported that their fai are homophobic and physilly and verbally abed them, g them to bee homels and promptg some to nsir suici.

Many also stggle to fd jobs amid a high unemployment rate and said they face discrimatn, cludg a 19-year-old gay man who said he has rorted to beggg: “Sometim I am so hungry. ”Six English-speakg natns the Caribbean still crimalize gay sex, cludg Domi, Jamai, Guyana, Grenada and St. ”González wh Human Rights Watch noted that 2019, the ernment held a workshop for public employe on the importance of rpectg gay rights, a rare move for a nservative Caribbean natn.

Vcent, anal sex is punishable by up to 10 years prison, while “gross cency” wh another person of the same sex is punishable by up to five years, acrdg to lonial-era laws that are mon the socially nservative Caribbean rarely voked, the rights group and a lol activist said the laws help legimize hostily and abe agast gay people. Several reported that their fai are homophobic and physilly and verbally abed them, g them to bee homels and promptg some to nsir also stggle to fd jobs amid a high unemployment rate and said they face discrimatn, cludg a 19-year-old gay man who said he has rorted to beggg: “Sometim I am so hungry.