Milestones in 2011 in LGBT life ..............

originally Prepared and contributed by MT 

Additions and editing done 

1. People's National Party ,whose leader said that she had no objections to gays in her cabinet and that she would call for a conscience vote on the country's anti-sodomy law if selected as the country's 10th Prime Minister, won a landslide victory in national elections.

2. Two extremely anti-gay Members of Parliament, Clive Mullings & Ernest Smith, lost their seats after the December 29th 2011 general election.

3. The first gender non-conforming male elected to the country's Parliament December 29th

4. Jamaicans For Justice lambasts Bishop Herro Blair after his homophobic diatribe.

5. Prime Minister Andrew Holness calls for debate on gay issues.

6. “AIDS free World” launches first legal challenge to the buggery laws at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

7. First tolerance for gays and HIV public service announcement showed on television.

8. Gleaner comes out in support of Portia Simpson Miller’s statement about gay rights and buggery law.

9. Countless amount of supportive letters and articles in media about the buggery law and having gays in the cabinet.

10. Portia Simpson Miller defends her statement about gays and buggery law she made at the National Electoral Debate.

11. Church leader, Reverend Oliver Daley, comes out in favour of buggery law repeal.

12. The Gleaner newspaper lambasts Clive Mullings for his anti-gay rhetoric at JLP rally.

13. Documentary on HIV and Jamaican gays released.

14. Opposition leader Portia Simpson-Miller publicly declared at the National Electoral Debates that she would allow a gay person to be in appointed to her cabinet, would ensure that people are not discriminated because of their sexual orientation, while suggesting she like to would bring the Buggery laws to a conscience vote in parliament and disagrees with the former prime minister’s “Not in my cabinet” statement.

15. UN Gay rights resolution passes. Could spark change in anti-gay countries like Jamaica.

16. Hilary Clinton champions Global Gay Rights at UN Summit in Geneva. Promised to take gay rights into consideration when giving foreign aid.

17. President Barack Obama directed all government agencies engaged abroad to ensure that U.S. diplomacy and aid programs "promote and protect" the rights of gays and lesbians.

18. Thanks to persons like Maurice Tomlinson we had over a dozen pro-gay, incident-free tolerance-themed public events.

19. Police Commissioner publicly declared that members of the police force should not discriminate based on sexual orientation.

20. President of the Senate, Oswald Harding, advocates for repeal of buggery law and protection based on sexual orientation.

21. Health Minister, Rudyard (Ruddy) Spenser advocates for repeal of buggery law and tolerance of gays for the fight against HIV.

22. Jamaica Gay rights activist, Maurice Tomlinson, is the 2011 recipient of the David Kato Vision and Voice Award.

23. Activists at UN demand an end to homophobic bullying in schools across the globe.

24. Pro-gay book launched at “Bookophilia” by Shirley Anderson Fletcher (sister of former first lady) who later came on television to promote the book.

25. UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, come out in support of gay rights globally and promised to redirect aid to nations with poor records on gay rights.

26. Gleaner comes out in support of buggery law repeal after David Cameron’s plea at Commonwealth Summit.

27. Coca-Cola apologizes for sponsoring event with anti-gay lyrics sung by “Sizzla”.

28. Gleaner editorial and letters to the editor in support of JFLAG’s “Unconditional Love” public Service Announcement.

29. Reggae Artiste, Mista Majah P, sings pro-tolerance song against homophobia and re-releases full album/CD. Promoted by Peter Tatchell.

30. “Unconditional Love” public service announcement calling for Jamaicans to love their gay family members launched. Rejected by TVJ and CVM but was shown on Youtube for all to see.

31. Police High Command withdraws Senior Superintendent Fitz Bailey's controversial claims about links between homosexuals and organised crime.

32. Study shows street youth more accepting of gays.

33. Swedish film crew that visited Jamaica to record a documentary on the island's human-rights situation got a first-hand look at our notorious homophobia and police excesses.

34. US embassy pledges to help reduce HIV/AIDS among locals.

35. Dancehall artistes stop direct anti-gay murder lyrics.

36. Jamaican Islamic leader in Germany expelled for calling for the death of gays.

37. Charter of rights criticised by media for not protecting gays. Ian Boyne and Elon Parkinson from CVM agrees with buggery law repeal and protection of gays by Charter.

38. Gleaner calls for gays to be protected by Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms.

39. Homophobic Jamaica Labour party embarrassed when JLP councillor gets charged for buggery.

additions

40. First ever business and lifestyle exposition called PRIDE FEST, making the pink dollar more worthy

41. Record numbers of commitment ceremonies on record in recent history ........ 7 SGL females and 3 SGL males

42. The most LGBT entertainment offerings since recorded history in one year ...... 43

43. Most successful asylum cases for LGBT persons overseas ..... estimated at 24

44. 8 more LGBT blogs added to the independent media list of bloggers

45. DJ Howie celebrates 15 years in the LGBT entertainment business and is awarded by the Sankofa Mgmt team

46. Lesbian community became more visibly in voice on the media landscape .... interviews on nearly all radio stations 

additions to come where applicable 

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Jamaicans for Justice calls for Ombudsman Bishop Hero Blair's resignation

In a swift move this afternoon the JFJ demanded the head of Herro Blair based on a sermon he delivered to his congregants at his Waltham Park Road church, The Jamaica Observer also carried the story:

HUMAN Rights group Jamaican for Justice is calling for Political Ombudsman Herro Blair to resign from that post.

In a release to the media the group said Blair's recent comments from the pulpit on the controversial buggery issue has eroded the perception that he is politically impartial.

"Political impartiality and the clear perception of impartiality are essential to the role of Political Ombudsman. Reports of comments recently made by Bishop Herro Blair have eroded the perception of his political impartiality, and in light of this, Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) is calling for his resignation from the position of Political Ombudsman," the release said.

President of the People’s National Party Portia Simpson Miller had said during the recent political debates that she would review the Buggery Law sending of an ongoing debate and the issue has become the subject of political campaigning as politicians hustle for votes.

"It is reported that Bishop Blair took a clear position on the issue, encouraging voters to support his declared position. Whereas both in his personal capacity and as a Bishop in his church, Bishop Blair is absolutely entitled to hold and voice his opinion on the issue and to encourage persons to support that position, this action would erode his ability to be seen as an impartial adjudicator in his role as Political Ombudsman," the release said.

"The content and tone of some of his comments would make it difficult for him to continue to speak out against inflammatory language coming from political candidates and political platforms," the JFJ said.

JFJ is calling on Bishop Blair to do the right thing and resign from his position as Political Ombudsman with immediate effect.

ENDS

In a subsequent radio interview on Radio Jamaica RJR with Dionne Jackson Miller Bishop Blair who did not appear live but was recorded earlier by phone intimated that he was misquoted and that the Jamaicans for Justice should have checked the recording, when pressed what did he actually said he then directed the host and the Jamaicans for Justice group to the recorded service.

However Executive Director Carolyn Gomes said in response that it is he the Bishop and Ombudsman who should have checked as the quotations of him in the various media has stood for the past thirty six hours or so without him contesting their accuracy instead of waiting until her group the Jamaicans for Justice has now challenging the statements and his impartiality that he denies what was reported.

The issue of his position of a bishop than that of an Ombudsman if he cannot separate the two in response Mrs Gomes responded that he should not seek to incite subtly or otherwise violence against any group or take a side with any party when persons are to report infractions to his office, he maybe unable to deal with them as his impartiality or the appearance of being impartial has been compromised.

She also said that the JFJ has amassed support for their stance and the support is growing with groups and individuals, she however never named them.

Previously ...................

BLAIR… we have to stop it in its bud

“My concern is not with reviewing a law, my concern is that next year this time, if you as Christians don’t go out and listen to the voice of God — not Herro Blair now — to direct you, because we don’t know who is who… my concern is that next year this time, the next thing that is going to happen in this country is an approach to same-sex marriage,” Blair said during his Christmas Day message to about 2,000 members at his church on Waltham Park Road in Kingston.

“Unnu build a prison for me, because I’m not doing it,” the bishop said, echoing the sentiments of some pastors who told the Observer last week that they would never accept the lifestyle of the gay, transgendered and lesbian community.

Last Tuesday night during the national leadership debate between Simpson Miller and Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Simpson Miller said her People’s National Party (PNP), if elected to form the Government, would review the buggery law and ask for a conscience vote on the issue in Parliament.

Her pledge has reignited what has traditionally been a hot-button issue in Jamaica where homosexuality is frowned upon by the majority of the population.

For years, local and international gay lobbyists have been trying to get Jamaica to repeal the buggery law, but have so far been unsuccessful in their bid.

Recently, the United Kingdom said it would cut aid to countries that uphold laws against homosexuality, while the United States indicated that it would ensure that US diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered persons.

Bishop Blair, in his message on Sunday, pointed to that kind of international pressure, saying: “God not dead, God not asleep, God will look out for his own and Jamaica don’t want no English man, and we don’t want no Spanish man, and we don’t want nobody from Europe or China to tell us how to live; and what they are doing is that they are putting pressure on our politicians to yield.”

He urged his congregants to call the candidates seeking their votes and ascertain their individual views on homosexuality, ahead of Thursday’s general election.

“You are going to vote on Thursday [but] before you vote, don’t call Portia and don’t call Andrew, call your candidate and ask your candidate what are their moral beliefs, what they defend,” he cautioned during the service, which was attended by the PNP candidate for St Andrew East Central Dr Peter Phillips and his JLP contender Beverly Prince.

“My problem is not with reviewing the law, I am going to review it tomorrow (Monday), I have it in my office. I am going to look at it, that’s a review,” Blair said. “But when you get a government — any government out of the two elected — and one have three here and the other may have six or seven over there, that is 10 out of 63. We have to stop it in its bud, you are going to have to kill it in its bud,” he said.

“I will go back to country and I will plant yellow yam and cocoa and dasheen and I will start a dasheen factory or a cocoa factory; I will sell tamarind ball, but this country is God’s country,” he said.

The pastor, who reminded the churchgoers that God had destroyed two cities before because of immorality, was equally vocal about what he believes was the silence of the church community on the issue.

“The church has been sleeping in this nation. The whole church has been sleeping in this nation because the church of the living God has given up its responsibility and that’s why they cuss us off whenever they want to,” said the pastor.

On my sister blog GLBTQJA on Wordpress see more here: 

Buggery law backlash – Blair: The church has been sleeping – Blair warns review could lead to same-sex marriages

Jamaicans for Justice Report on “Civil Society Response to the List of Issues” for the UN Review 2011 includes section from JFLAG/WFW

Submission from 

Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) 

For consideration in the formulation of the 

List of Issues by the Human Rights Committee’s Task Force 

during the 100th Session

(11-29 October 2010)

http://jamaicansforjustice.org/docs/110921H934.pdf

Jamaica’s human rights track record will be reviewed by the Human Rights Committee on 19-20 October 2011. J-FLAG has contributed to report written by Jamaicans for Justice that assess the application of human rights in Jamaica. The report entitled “Civil Society Response to the List of Issues” offers 95 recommendations to the government on issues ranging from, but not limited to, impunity and extrajudicial killings, children’s rights, gay rights, persons with disabilities and discrimination.

The Human Rights Committee is the UN body that monitors the extent to which governments protect and promote the human rights of persons as per the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Jamaica is reviewed by the Committee every 3-5 years by the Human Rights Committee. This will be the third time that Jamaica’s human rights track record will scrutinized on the international stage.

Other Jamaican NGOs contributing to the report are Hear the Children Cry, Independent Jamaican Council of Human Rights (IJCHR), Jamaican Community of HIV Positive Women, Mensana, Stand Up for Jamaica and Women’s Resource & Outreach Centre (WROC).

To view both the civil society report as well as the government’s report on the implementation of the ICCPR click on the following links below:

http://jamaicansforjustice.org/docs/110921H934.pdf – State of Jamaica: NGO Report on the Implementation of the ICCPR (prior to the adoption of the list of issues)

http://jamaicansforjustice.org/docs/110921H342.%202011%29 – Civil Society Report on the Implementation of the ICCPR (replies to the list of issues)

Text adopted from Jamaicans for Justice

A shadow report on the human rights situation of LGBT people in Jamaica was written and submitted through the collaborative efforts of Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals, & Gays (J-FLAG), Women for Women (Kingston), Heartland Alliance, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), AIDS-Free World (AFW), and The George Washington University Law School International Human Rights Clinic.

Visit this link for a copy: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/docs/ngos/LGBT_Jamaica103.pdf

Human Rights Violations of Lesbian, Gay, 

Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) people in 

Jamaica: 

A Shadow Report 

Submitted for consideration at the 103rd Session of the Human 

Rights Committee 

October 2011, Geneva 

Submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Committee by: 

• Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals, & Gays (J-FLAG) 

• Women for Women (Kingston, Jamaica) 

• Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights 

• International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) 

• AIDS-Free World (AFW) 

• The George Washington University Law School International Human Rights 

Clinic

I. Introduction

This shadow report on the human rights situation of LGBT people in Jamaica was written and 

submitted through the collaborative efforts of Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals, & Gays 

(J-FLAG), Women for Women (Kingston), Heartland Alliance, International Gay and Lesbian 

Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), AIDS-Free World (AFW), and The George Washington 

University Law School International Human Rights Clinic.

Jamaica became party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“ICCPR”) on 

October 3, 1975.  Jamaica submitted its second report for Universal Periodic Review (“UPR”) 

under Article 40 of the ICCPR was in January 1997.

2

  In its concluding observations in response to that report, the Human Rights Committee (“HRC”) expressed its hope at that time that the new Jamaican Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms (“Charter”) would explicitly prohibit of discrimination on the grounds of sex, and that any conflict between provisions of Section 24 of the Jamaican Constitution and the ICCPR be eliminated.

3

   Since that time, however, Jamaica, has not complied with the HRC’s recommendations.  Rather than prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of “sex,” the new Charter prohibits discrimination on the ground of being “male or female.”  This language serves to circumvent protections guaranteed under the ICCPR by 

excluding from the Charter the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation 

and gender identity, which the HRC has found to be  protected grounds under the category of 

“sex.”

4

  Jamaica failed to submit its third UPR report in 2001, but submitted its combined third 

and fourth reports on July 20, 2009.

5

As recently as June 2011, the Human Rights Council has reaffirmed its commitment to LGBT 

issues through passage of Resolution 17/19, entitled  Human rights, sexual orientation and 

gender identity.

6

  The passing of this resolution stresses the importance of LGBT-identity related 

                                                

1

 This report was primarily authored by Laetitia Jojic (JD ‘11, George Washington University Law School), under the supervision of Professor Shana Tabak of the George Washington University Law School, International Human Rights Clinic, with significant assistance provided by Supraja Murali (JD Candidate 2012, George Washington University Law School) and Timothy Merlo (JD Candidate 2012, George Washington University Law School).  

Special thanks to Stefano Fabeni (Heartland Alliance, Director of Global Initiative for Sexuality and Human Rights) for extensive guidance in the drafting of this report, and to the numerous Jamaican activists and civil society organizations who contributed valuable information, reports and comments throughout the drafting of this report. Questions regarding this report may be addressed to Professor Shana Tabak, George Washington University, stabak@law.gwu.edu.

2

 U.N. Human Rights Comm. [ICCPR], Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties under Article 40 of the Covenant, Second Periodic Report of States Parties due 1986, Addendum, Jamaica, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/42/Add.15 

(Mar. 7, 1997). 

3

 U.N. Human Rights Comm. [ICCPR], Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties under Article 40 of the Covenant, Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee, Jamaica, ¶4, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/79/Add.83 

(Nov. 19, 1997).

   

4

Toonen v. Australia, U.N. Human Rights Comm., Commc’n. No. 488/1992, ¶ 8.7, U.N. Doc. 

CCPR/C/50/D/488/1992 (1994). 

5

 U.N. Human Rights Comm. [ICCPR], Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties under Article 40 of the Covenant, Third Periodic Report of States Parties, Jamaica, ¶ 1, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/JAM/3 (July 20, 2009) 

[hereinafter Jamaica Third Periodic Report]. 

6

 U.N. Human Rights Council, Resolution 17/19, Human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, U.N. Doc. 

A/HRC/17/L.9/Rev.1 (June 17, 2011).

FULL DOWNLOAD

Search, Detention and Bail ....Your Rights Reminder

In light of recent events where persons from the LGBT community were harassed and searched without proper justification by agents of the state here are some reminders when it comes to BAIL and SEARCHES

Know Your Rights: Search And Detention!!!!

SEARCH

Searching Persons

§ To search you, police must have reasonable suspicion that you are committing or have committed an offence. They should tell you why they want to search you.

§ A woman must be searched by a woman only, and if no female police officer is available, the search must be made by any woman designated for that purpose by a police officer.

House Search

§ If the police want to enter your house, you should ask them if they have a warrant. Ask to see the warrant!

§ However, there are cases where the police can search without a warrant. For example, when it is believed that a crime has been or about to be committed

§ A warrant will normally be executed by day unless otherwise stated and where good reasons were given why it must be done at night.

§ A warrant should be executed only within the strict specifications mentioned within the warrant.

§ Follow the officer during the search!

§ Ask the officer his name but if he fails to identify himself, note anything that can help you to identify the officer for example, his badge number, markings on the car he drove, etc.

§ Look carefully at the officer so that you may be able to identify him, if necessary you can relay the description at a later date.

§ Request a signed list of anything that the officer takes with him.

Vehicular Search

§ If the police wish to search your vehicle they must tell you the reasonable grounds for wanting to search. They do not have a right to search as a matter of routine.

DETENTION

§ Police officers often lock up persons without charging them.

§ If you are detained for more than 72 hours without being charged, you can get a lawyer to go to court for an order for the police to release you if they are not going to charge you. This is known as habeas corpus.

Habeas Corpus which literally means “bring the body” is a writ or legal action through which a person can be released from unlawful detention.

NB.

The above is still in effect as the 2010 amendments to the Bail Act as part of the Anti-Crime Bills address the issue of bail and not detention. Bail is only relevant when you are charged with an offence.

the “RIGHT TO BAIL - COURT”

* Detention period may be extended under State of Emergency circumstances.

RIGHT TO BAIL – POLICE

§ Once you are charged you have a right to bail.

§ Bail must be considered within 24 hours of your being arrested.

§ For most offences bail can be granted by the police. This is known as station bail.

§ If you are charged with an offence for which you cannot be imprisoned then the policeSHOULD in most cases grant you bail.

RIGHT TO BAIL – COURT

§ If police deny you bail you can request bail before a Resident Magistrate (RM).

§ If you are charged with an offence for which the police cannot grant you bail then ask to be taken to a judge as soon as possible.

§ Under the 2010 amendments to the Bail Act, persons charged with serious offences under the “Second Schedule” will not have bail considered for 60 days if they have already been convicted of an offence under that Schedule. The “Second Schedule” makes mention of serious convictions such as certain offences under the Dangerous Drugs Act, Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Suppression and Punishment) Act, Child Care and Protection Act (trafficking of children), Offences Against the Person Act and Perverting the Course of Justice.

§ When you are charged with an offence under the “Second Schedule” and you are in custody during the 60 day period, you should be brought before the court 7 days after you were charged and then every 14 days thereafter for the court to review your bail application.

§ If a court denied bail at first, you can keep applying to the same court or you can apply to a judge of the Supreme Court

TO GET BAIL

§ One (1) passport-sized picture signed by a Justice of the Peace (J.P.)

§ A valid form of identification

a. National ID

b. Drivers’ Licence

c. Passport

§ Two (2) letters of recommendation

a. JP

b. Sergeant of police or police of higher rank

§ Collateral

a. Motor vehicle statement

b. Land title without caveat

c. Bank statement

§ Proof of Address

a. A recent utility bill

NB. There are changes expected with what is acceptable documentation

"Outdated" Bail Laws to be changed but Buggery Laws remain ... how convenient Mr.Golding?

I remember reading somewhere and posting in one of my blogs a press release on Bruce Golding and outdated buggery laws, indeed I dug up my archives and found it. It was done back in March 2009 by AIDSFREEWORLD and was published on GLBTQ Jamaica September 24, 2009 in it's entirely, read it here.

It highlighted among other things the question of liberalizing the buggery laws in Jamaica to which the Prime Minister on his feet in the House of Parliament said no thus in effect keeping archaic legislation to maintain popularity.

In the excerpt highlighted in orange the AIDSFREEWORLD group continued by espousing
"A gay man and his lesbian sister are shot in the chest in front of their families, in their home. A pastor praying at the funeral of a gay man is confronted by an angry mob. Someone chases a lesbian down a Kingston street, catches her, slits her throat, and leaves her to die in a bloody puddle.

She didn’t die, and she and other victims of vicious homophobia told us their stories. We came away appalled, although homophobia is very familiar in all the countries in which we work. Appalled because homophobia, sexism and bigotry are rolling out the welcome carpet for HIV/AIDS, and we feel more strongly than ever that unless homosexuality is decriminalized, the pandemic will not stop killing.

“Know your epidemic” has long been a mantra of international AIDS organizations. It makes sense. We know, from UN data, that in certain countries in the Caribbean, prevalence rates among men who have sex with men (MSM) are as much as 20 times higher than in the general population. Jamaica’s and Trinidad’s adult HIV prevalence rates are 1.6% and 1.5% respectively, compared to 31.8% and 20% among MSM.

Combine these figures with the fact that in the Dominican Republic, for example, 78% of MSM report having sex with women, and what do we know about the epidemic? We know that gay men fear for their safety and lives, and that they enter heterosexual relationships in order to stay safe. So the virus spreads to women.

We believe “know your epidemic” means not just knowing (and often blaming) the epidemic’s victims. We believe it means knowing what makes populations such as sexual minorities and women so vulnerable to the virus. MSM are not to blame for the high prevalence rates in their communities: the bigotry and legalized homophobia that drive them underground are.

The world has always blamed the oppressed for their own problems. MSM certainly don’t want to contract HIV, but their communities drive them underground and prevent them from seeking out prevention. Research data shows that when stigma is lowered, so are infection rates.

We simply cannot contain the epidemic – in Jamaica or anywhere else – if we don’t acknowledge the barriers facing those in high-risk groups. Those barriers include bigotry, fear, hatred and legalized discrimination."

The old laws from our colonial masters on buggery are kept non-the-less of course for the main reason as a popularity carrot dangling infront of a dumb donkey as in the public as we have seen in recent times, I need not remind you of them but visit the tabs on Charter of Rights , Hypocrisy & homophobia and Buggery Law on GLBTQ Jamaica, also see the similar tabs here on GJW for a roster of posts on the matters.

In Parliament recently on June 3, 2010 the Prime Minister found it necessary however to justify changes to the bail acts among others in response to the mounting pressure from civil society on the incursion in Tivoli Gardens and political criminals, those respective bills and acts by the way are younger than the old buggery laws as appearing in the original Offences Against the Persons Acts as were handed down to us from our colonial masters. In his opening remarks the Prime Minister in Parliament during the debate on the six crime bills now laid before the house said that some of the laws were outdated and needed to be changed to reflect the new realities that now obtain however when such sentiments were expressed as have been so done time and again in relation to the Buggery Laws with possible decriminalisation, privacy and freedom of consenting adults they were all shot down in the name of so called moral grounds of course used as convenient tools to prop up the government's image with the opposition and the religious right happily playing along.

The Bills for review are: an Act to amend the Bail Act; an Act to further amend the Firearms Act; an Act to amend the Offences Against the Person Act; an Act to amend the Parole Act; an Act to make interim provision in relation to the grant of bail in specified circumstances; and an Act to make interim provision extending the powers of arrest and detention under Sections 50B and 50F of the Constabulary Force Act.

One of the two contentious Bills, the Bail Act, proposes what Mr. Golding described as a "significant" change in the approach to bail. The Act, if passed, will be in place for one year and will allow the state to imprison a person charged with violent or certain drug-related offences for up to 60 days without bail.

The Prime Minister said, however, that the new Bill would require that the detained person must be taken before a judge, not later than seven days after he is held, where the judge can review the matter to determine whether he should be released, and thereafter if he is not released, he must be taken back before the court in intervals of 14 days.

The other Bill seeks to extend the powers of arrest and detention under sections 50B and 50F of the Constabulary Force Act, so that a person can be detained for up to 72 hours, instead of 24 hours, without being charged or taken before a magistrate.

It also provides for the arrest and detention of a person outside of the locality of a curfew or cordon, if a divisional commander or a member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force at the rank of Assistant Commissioner is satisfied that there is reasonable ground for suspecting that the person is about to commit, or has committed a crime within the area of the curfew or cordon.

The GLBTQ angle:
Given our ticklish environment here towards homosexuality imagine if a gay, lesbian or transgendered person is held for any reason and such a person maybe in dressed in full drag or presents aesthetically as the opposite of their obvious gender as we saw in a public case recently of a crossdresser in a police station in central Jamaica then I wonder what would obtain? that person may be deliberately made to be exposed to the rest of the jail, holding area or prison population and what guarantee of safety and fairness do we have for that GLBTQ member?
We have seen cases before where detainees are outed to the other incarcerated persons which have led to beatings with very little support or intervention from the correctional officials to stop the abuse. Imagine such abuse now obtaining when one is held for 72 hours without charge only to be released battered and bruised for on a premise of innocence with very little recourse. Disturbing isn't it?

It is questions like these I would have expected Jamaica Forum for Lesbians Allsexuals and Gays, JFLAG to have been asking in joining the other rights groups such as Families Against State Terrorism (FAST), Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) and Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights (IJCHR) in recent public criticisms in as far as seeking justice for GLBTQ people in this whole mess after all some of those groups had representatives present at the recent International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) silent protest in New Kingston, why not join them and speak out or the IDAHO move was just a directive from the main sponsors then it dies there? Follow up!

The irony of ironies is that the electorate of old is not dormant or sleeping anymore we are watching issues more closely and commenting and will act if needed, a culture that he, Bruce Golding has helped to foster when he was out of power from the days of his Presidency of the National Democratic Movement (NDM) to his re-entry into the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).

Peace & tolerance

H