The minute he said it we had no doubt that Prime Minister Bruce Golding would have come under fire from gay and human rights activists.

After all, stating firmly that homosexuals would not be allowed to serve in his Cabinet is not something that is expected from the head of government of a democratic society. Moreso a society in which, as Mr Golding admitted to his BBC interviewer, long-standing hostility to homosexuality was gradually softening.

Indeed, Prime Minister Golding had also told the BBC interviewer, Mr Stephen Sackur, that the Jamaican Government was committed to respecting people's right to privacy, and as such, "crimes against persons because of their sexual orientation must be pursued with the same vigour as any other crime".

That is a position we support fully, as we do not believe that homosexuals should be afforded any less protection under the law because of their lifestyle.

It is our view that in this society people must be free to make choices so long as those choices do not infringe upon the rights of others and are not being forced upon the populace to accept.

In that regard, we condemn those instances when men accused of being gay have been beaten by Jamaicans who, for the most part, regard homosexuality as sinful and repulsive.

However, as we have said before in this space, gay men in particular need to be more circumspect in their public behaviour, especially given that they are not unaware of how Jamaicans in general view their lifestyle.

We suspect that the strong push by gay lobbyists, both here and mostly from abroad, to force acceptance of their lifestyle upon Jamaicans has had the reverse effect of creating even more anti-homosexual sentiments in the country.

For as Prime Minister Golding rightly said in that BBC interview, Jamaica is not going to allow values to be imposed on it from outside by lobby groups who wish to define for us how we must establish our own standards and morals.

So when gay rights activists send word that they will organise a tourism boycott of Jamaica, for instance, all they are doing is strengthening opposition to their cause, as the most common response is 'So what? We don't need them here anyway'.

The irony of all this is that there are many gay men and women in Jamaica who are generally ignored by the populace. In fact, the instances of violence directed at homosexuals are far fewer than the gay lobby would have the world believe.

And while the gay lobby doesn't like to hear this, available evidence suggests that in many cases when homosexuals are murdered in Jamaica, the act is committed by one of their own, often out of jealousy.

Our suggestion to the gay lobby is that, instead of trying to sully Jamaica's name, they should allow Jamaicans to adapt to changing perceptions of people's lifestyles and the fact that individuals of all kinds can co-exist.

This, however, is not something that will happen overnight.

Trousers in Denim

Cream of the 'Crop'

Cheeky's World