Letters to the Editor
Repeal buggery law
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Dear Editor,
Along with the rest of the world, Jamaica celebrated International Women's Day, Monday, March 8. However, this government has failed to demonstrate leadership in reducing the scourge of HIV/AIDS affecting women by not repealing the buggery law.
The National Aids Committee, UNAIDS, and other local and international agencies have consistently pointed out to the prime minister and the minister of health that the buggery law spreads HIV/AIDS to heterosexual women as:
* The homophobia caused by the buggery law "forces" some gay men to marry or have girlfriends as a cover for their sexuality. When these men can't hide anymore, they engage in short, risky same-sex activity (usually without a condom) which leads to HIV/AIDS infection that they take home to their wives or girlfriends.
* The buggery law prevents the distribution of condoms in prisons where men engage in unprotected sex, either from necessity or choice, and once infected they take the disease back into the general population upon their release.
*The stigma caused by the buggery law causes same-sex male lovers to shy away from treatment and thus the disease becomes embedded in the society.
It is irresponsible for the government, when faced with this and other data about the causes for the spread of HIV/AIDS in Jamaica, not to repeal the buggery law. Tolerance for homosexuality does not have to mean acceptance of the lifestyle. However, intolerance is definitely killing our women.
Maurice Tomlinson
maurice_tomlinson@yahoo.com
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5/17/2010
I'm a Jamaican woman who is very concerned about the existence of Jamaican homosexual and bisexual men who have wives and/or girlfriends, while they actively engage in sexual relationshipS with male partners. As a whole, Jamaican society must face this reality, in order to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS from those who don't practice safe sex. I would like Jamaican women and men to become aware and take steps to protect themselves. I'm requesting that Jamaicans log on and post comments on: http://alltruth1crusade.blogspot.com AND/OR http://alltruth1.blogspot.com AND/OR http://twitter.com/AllTruth1 THANKS!
5/9/2010
I'm a Jamaican woman who is very concerned about the existence of Jamaican homosexual and bisexual men who have wives and/or girlfriends, while they actively engage in anal sex with multiple male partners. The horrible reality of their sexual practices is causing the spread of HIV/AIDS into the general population and predictively will cause the increase of the 1.6% HIV/AIDS rate in the general population to increase. I created several Web sites to address the issue which Jamaican society must face in order to save lives. I am REQUESTING THAT ALL JAMAICAN MEN AND WOMEN WHO READ THIS POST, LOG ONTO THOSE WEB SITES, READ THE POSTS AND POST COMMENTS.
3/19/2010
Ms Holland...as recent as 5 years ago, they still had buggery laws in some states. That is why you still find the undercover thing in the USA as strong as it is..surprisingly, enough, this practice is a lot more common in the black community..it is also important to note that black population, whether it is in the USA, UK or Europe has a higher HIV rate than their white counterparts..surprisingly enough they are also more "religious":. Its interesting to note that the countries with the lowest HIV rates tend to be more inclusive with their sexual minorities where as the countries that have staggering HIV rates tend to be from Subsaharan Africa, the Caribbean and Russia.
Believe it or not Ms Holland you are susceptible to the HIV virus as well since you can not tell whether or not someone is gay in all cases. So unless you are practising celibacy or a lesbian(since they have the lowest rate of infection) you are at risk.
You obviously were smoking crack when you wrote the rest of your letter so i will give you a pass on that.
3/18/2010
Mr Davidson..We all know that the governor turned out to be gay..I am somewhat not clear on your recommendations for treating or preventing HIV or decriminalizing buggery. Are you saying we should give them more open spaces and hard labor? If so, will that correct their homosexuality?
3/18/2010
Well there is no Buggery Laws in America and homosexuals have "wives" and "girlfriends" and spread diseases too. If you are a homosexual in Jamaica and do not publicly display your situation I don't believe that Jamaicans will pay any attention to you. I don't believe that the police is looking for you either. Where it becomes an issue is when it is publicly displayed. Jamaicans won't accept this. Now, what the buggery law does today is it protects young boys and animals from being sexually assulted. Just because other countries are doing something does not make it right and does not mean we all have to follow suit.
3/15/2010
We should go further than that. Make it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of their sexual orientation, as is the case in many other civilized, humane countries.
3/14/2010
Victims of abuse are those most likely to perpetrate it.
Our history is rooted in us being being subjected to horrible treatment based on racial prejudices.
Now that we are past most of that, we are happy to mete out horrible treatment based on sexual prejudices.
The fact that we still have these laws on the books, suggests we have the same mindset as the slavemasters.
We have not progressed very far.
3/14/2010
@HopeAlive: ITS TOO LATE, men have underage boys and girls at their disposal and the State (which is treaty to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child) does nothing about it; when an eleven (11) years old girl can walk into a public hospital and have twin babies and go home with the babies. There are a lot of things wrong with Jamaica, but we ought to make the list check it twice and prioritise.
3/14/2010
Yeah! This is a waste of time. Isn't there a lot more Jamaica has to worry about than some stupid anti-buggery law? Don't get me wrong, homosexuality to me is very gross, but why should we make something illegal just because we don't agree with that lifestyle? Homosexuality isn't the only thing that's immoral. What about incest, fornication, and pedophilia? And murder? What someone does in his or her bedroom is their business, unless they flaunt it in our faces. If you're worried about that, why not set boundaries that would curb that sort of thing, because trust me, the thought of seeing people of the same sex making out or acting like a couple weirds me out. Heterosexual couples doing freaky things also weirds me out. Let's not be hypocritical about this.
3/14/2010
We'll soon be saying, it a man has an underaged girl or boy in the privacy of his home and wants to do whatever he pleases, "no business of mine".
If he has a fowl in his bedroom or a donkey, no business of mine
3/13/2010
If two men want to 'get it on' in the privacy of their bedroom, no matter how repugnant I think their actions are, if they are so naturally inclined, it ought to be no business of mine.
3/13/2010
@ Jay Brown "There so much wrong with Jamaica, so why are we wasting time debating the buggery law !!! "
Because the existence of the buggery law is ONE of those many things that are wrong with Jamaica!!
3/13/2010
Eeen hi now, Spanish Town! Di "righteous Jamaicans" dem are going to be out again with their "bibles" citing various passages to you! They are going to cut to the chase: by which I mean ignoring all the passages that talk about their own wickedness, and citing only those that suit their purpose. So, for example, though Leviticus 18 has 30 verses, many of which speak out against their wickedness, they know only verse 22, because it is convenient for them. The same is true of Romans 1; they will "cut to the chase" and point you to the verses that forbid any such thought as that suggested in your letter (v. 26-27), and ignore the rest (such as v. 29-30). Mi sarry fi yuh, because de "righteous-when-it-convenient-fi-dem Jamaicans" a go mek sure dawg nyam yu suppah! Mi a guh watch, while mi a read mi owna bible, "The Complete Works of Shakespeare", which is where I look for quotes and citations when I need them!
3/13/2010
leave us alone,we are not interested in buggery or any other nastiness .if anything we need to strengthen the laws against these nasty acts..
3/13/2010
There so much wrong with Jamaica, so why are we wasting time debating the buggery law !!!
3/13/2010
Mr. Maurice Tomlinson is the letter to the editor writer above is trying to stop the spread of a terrible man-made disease of our times, but approaching a remedy in the wrong way, suggesting the repeal of the buggery laws, just like those desperate incarcerated minds in search of physical and mental relief while in confinement for making a mistake in life. The problem is age old penal confinement. Our society must find an alternative to physical imprisonment of persons who committed a wrong to society. It is not the buggery law that is the problem; it is the ancient disposition to imposing cruelty upon those admitting to doing cruelty or a wrong to a person or property in a court of law. My son wrote an essay while in the fourth grade in the Lutheran school in Fords, New Jersey, USA where he came up with a novel idea of treating inmates in jail. He wrote in his paper that there has to be a much more productive measure to punish wrong doing by ill trained adults other than incarceration in an overcrowded narrow space of confinement. He strongly suggests wide-open space commissioned with lots of work throughout a given day at best serves the needs of society. The former Governor of the State of New Jersey visited his school and treated all my son and all his classmates to a fine getting to know the governor of the state. Don’t you think his idea has some merit to be considered?
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