Information minister Burchell Whiteman said Monday that the sodomy laws were likely to come up for review in the future, suggesting however that years would pass before it happened and only if Jamaicans became more accepting of sexual diversity.

“Jamaica is not ready for it. It may be ready for it in years to come but before any legislation process is embarked upon, there will have to be a much broader level of acceptance,” the minister told the Observer following the post-Cabinet press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister.

But while it could at some future time be given consideration, Whiteman also made it clear that a review did not imply automatic repeal.

“Jamaica will consider it but that does not mean that it will be done. It would take a considerable amount of public education and gaining public acceptance before that could be done,” he noted.

Whiteman’s comments come even as the island is in the throes of a heated debate on the issue of homosexuality, as Jamaicans face overseas pressure to be more accepting of the lifestyle.

The debate was sparked earlier this year when UK-based gay rights group Outrage! targeted deejays like Beenie Man, Vybz Cartel and Elephant Man who spurt anti-gay lyrics.

More recently the island, and the government in particular, came under fire from the Human Rights Watch (HRW) in its report, ‘Hated to Death – Homophobia, Violence and Jamaica’s HIV/AIDS Epidemic’, released November 16.

HRW, in that report, called for the repeal of the buggery laws and constitutional protection for homosexuals, arguing that the island’s homophobia was hampering the effective treatment of HIV/AIDS.

Members of the local gay community have themselves called for a repeal of the island’s buggery law.

“The sodomy laws need to go. The government is interested in invading people’s private life, and what two consenting adults do behind closed doors in their time is exactly their business,” said a member of the Jamaican Forum for Lesbians, Allsexuals and Gays (J-FLAG) management committee, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Whiteman, however, insisted that the law represented no invasion of privacy, but was rather a reflection of public will.

“There are standards which the country might wish to observe in terms of lowering the bar, which could have a very deleterious effect on the acceptability of a practice, which we all regard as not being desirable practice,” the minister said.

“I must also make the point that in practice, although the law is on the books, it is not in a sense so rigorously pursued in a way where people are persecuted.”

– williamsp@jamaicaobserver.com