A group of Christian lawyers and church leaders are, after all, to have their day before a parliamentary committee to voice their concerns about aspects of the proposed Charter of Rights and Freedom.

The lawyers and church leaders said the Charter could open a back door for the legalisation of homosexuality, the decriminalisation of abortion and threats to religious freedoms.

A J Nicholson, the justice minister and attorney-general, who chairs the parliamentary Joint Select Committee on the Charter of Rights which is being considered as an amendment to the Constitution, had said Wednesday that the church leaders would not be given an opportunity to make a submission as the committee was expected to sign off on the report yesterday.

According to Nicholson, the group’s concerns, although not presented by them, had been considered at past sittings of the committee, which had been meeting intermittently over the last 15 years.

But yesterday, Nicholson reversed his decision, and instead of the committee signing off on its report, which is to be submitted to Parliament for debate and decision, it adjourned to March 8, on the understanding that the Christian community lobby group – headed by Shirley Richards, president of the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship, and including a group calling itself Concerned Leaders, Christian Lawyers and other Members of the Jamaican Society – present its detailed written submissions by March 2.

Signs that the committee meeting scheduled for 4:00 pm yesterday would not be a normal one became apparent after 3 o’clock when police with M16 assault rifles and automatic side arms began patrolling the streets near to Gordon House. They also put up barriers at the intersection of Duke and Sutton streets as is normal when there are sittings of the House of Representatives, preventing motorists with no specific reason to be on Duke Street, from driving there.

By then, dozens of church leaders and followers had parked nearby and walked to Gordon House. Told by the police that they couldn’t congregate by the entrance to the Houses of Parliament, they quickly handed out pamphlets titled “New Charter of Rights Wrong”, “Amendments to Jamaica’s Constitution Charter of Rights & Freedoms (Bill of Rights)” and a bumper sticker proclaiming “Churches United Save Jamaica”. They then held a brief prayer meeting and filed upstairs Gordon House, occupying most of the 200 seats in the gallery. As the committee meeting began, the group composed of men and women of all ages, sat quietly. Later, some members laughed out loud occasionally, as some committee members played to the gallery.

The committee meeting began routinely, then six members of the concerned group of Christian lawyers and church leaders, headed by Richards, whose group had sent a letter to the committee last week, were invited into the chamber and welcomed by Senator Nicholson.

The letter had raised the issues: whether provisions in the Charter could give rise to an interpretation that homosexuality was to be allowable legally by the provisions; whether abortion also fell into that category; and whether the right concerning religion was being circumscribed by the provisions of the Charter.

Nicholson said the committee had last week pointed out that for several reasons “these matters had already been considered by the committee”. Since then, however, the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship, speaking for the larger church group also, had said it would prefer to come before the committee and make its presentation.

Apparently figuring that it would be unwise to pick a fight with the Church, Senator Nicholson declared: “If it’s the will of the committee that the submissions be oralised by the representatives of the church and by the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship, so be it. Let’s hear what they have to say….”

New committee member Mike Henry pointed out that Senator Nicholson had previously objected to hearing the group. Arthur Williams, also a committee member, said it wouldn’t be fair to call on the lobby group to make its presentation yesterday, having just heard that the committee would be affording it the opportunity. Besides, he argued, that the group’s page-and-a-half letter could not be considered a full presentation to the committee.

Called on by Senator Nicholson, Richards said she had heard just that afternoon that she might be afforded the opportunity to address the committee. The letter, she said, had been just an expression of concern and “the points of our concern are so grave that we really would like to make a very detailed submission to the committee… We need time to put everything together.”

She asked to be allowed even a week in which to prepare a detailed presentation, although promising to answer questions yesterday on the letter.

After much wrangling over whether Richards should be asked some questions relating to constitutional issues raised in the letter, or whether the committee meeting should be adjourned sine die and when the submissions were ready, the meeting date was set and the committee finally decided on Wednesday, March 8 at 2:00 pm for its next meeting.