By: Ashley Anthony
“For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.” James 2:10
Trinidad and Tobago has very recently made a very forward step; a judge has ruled the country’s homophobic laws unconstitutional. The reaction to this is mixed. There are many who hope that this ruling will have a domino effect, spreading into other Caribbean countries (and Guyana); whilst others are personally trying to stop the dominoes from falling.
Some of the loudest voices against the legalisation of homosexuality are religious groups. In 2012, the Christian community held a press conference wherein they called upon the Guyanese community to “roundly reject any move to legalize homosexuality”, expressing that homosexuality was a source of societal dysfunction and demise.
There is, though, something that always bothers me about any religious arguments being made against the case for the legalisation of homosexuality. This thing which bothers me is the fact that Guyana is a secular state. Secularism is not the enemy. In fact, I believe it enables us to live in the relatively harmonious environment that we enjoy. To explain: if Guyana were not secular, and the laws of the country were affiliated to one particular religion — let’s say Christianity — then we could not enjoy Phagwah or the feast from Eid ul Adha.
Most people would agree that the laws of Guyana should be designed for the people of Guyana, whether they are Christian, Hindu, Muslim, or Atheist. Understanding that, I find it strange that people cannot grasp that the laws of Guyana should support Guyanese, regardless of sexual orientation. Arguing that homosexuality is ungodly, and therefore should be illegal for all Guyanese is invalid, as not all Guyanese believe in God, nor do all Guyanese follow religions which reject homosexuality.
There is the argument that homosexuality is immoral, and thus this is why it is criminalized. Even if you believe that homosexuality is immoral, there are many things which are immoral but not illegal. For example, according to the laws of Guyana, it is perfectly fine to be an adulterer, or a liar. Yet, according the Word of God, which many Christians seem intent on making the law of Guyana, “Thou shalt not commit adultery” Exodus 20:14. This is not to say that cheating on your spouse is a good thing to do; it can cause pain, grief, and even the destruction of the nucleic family structure that is supposedly under threat by the “homosexual agenda”. Yet, it is not illegal.
The question, then, becomes “where do we draw the line?” What is simply immoral and what is illegal? I think the difference should derive from whether we are harming others. As President David Granger put it, “I am prepared to respect the rights of any adult to indulge in any practice which is not harmful to others.”
Is Guyana prepared?
