British court overturns ban on gay sex in Trinidad and Tobago

The British Privy Council, Trinidad’s highest court, has struck down colonial-era laws which had criminalized same-sex relations between males, giving the local LGBTQ community a major victory after years of legal and other struggles. Five British law lords declared on Nov. 10 that sections of the sexual offenses act which had made buggery a crime are no longer valid and should be struck off the law books. The case was petitioned by well-known local rights activist Jason Jones and the issue dates back to a 1986 law which had amended some sections of colonial era statutes to make buggery an offense even if consensual relations were involved. “The ability to form a deep connection with another person through an intimate and loving relationship is a vital interest for all human beings,” the court noted. "In the board’s view, sections 13 and 16 of the act of 1986 went beyond repealing and re-enacting with modifications the existing law. Rather, they constituted a new law. The mere fact that a repressive law has survived from colonial times so as to be 'traditional' in that sense plainly could not furnish a legitimate objective for the purposes of a proportionality analysis under the constitution. Although members of the public who regard homosexuality as immoral may be shocked, offended or disturbed by the commission by others of private homosexual acts, this cannot on its own warrant the application of penal sanctions when it is consenting adults alone who are involved.” Reacting to the ruling, former attorney general and Jones’ lead attorney Anand Ramlogan saw the decision as a major victory for human rights in the federation with Tobago. The previous law had also criminalized anal sex involving a male and woman. Guilty parties could have faced up to 25 years in prison. “Gay rights form part of the wider struggle for human rights," he said. "Every person is entitled to the protection of the constitution, regardless of their sexual orientation. The judgment recognizes tolerance and broad-mindedness as hallmarks of the democratic society established by our constitution,” Ramlogan noted in a release. “Jones' determination has secured a decision that affirms the constitutional protection of an intimate and fundamental part of human life.” The Nov. 10 ruling is the latest of several decriminalizing male same sex relations involving acts of  buggery and those also involving a male and a female. Guyana is one of the few which is yet to make amendments.