KINGSTON, Jamaica — Senior Queens Counsel and human rights activist Lord Anthony Gifford says the decision of whether or not to repeal Jamaica’s anti buggery laws should not be put to referendum.

“This is not an issue to be considered by popular vote,” he stated a short while ago at the opening session of an international conference examining the church and anti-sodomy laws across the Commonwealth.

Lord Gifford argued that in some instances, laws have to be passed even if it offends the majority, pointing out that laws should protect the unpopular as much as it protects the majority.

The two-day conference, themed Intimate Convictions, is being hosted by at the regional headquarters of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona.

Speakers are reviewing the history of decriminalisation, and the role of the church. Organisers include the Canadian HIV/AIDS legal network, Anglicans for Decriminalisaton, in collaboration with Rector of Christ Church, Father Sean Major-Campbell.

Alphea Saunders