God doesn’t play favourites

Fri, Jun 15. 2012

Editor: In his letter dated February, 13, 2012 (to the Anglican Bishop, Leopold Friday, Chair of the Christian Council), where the Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves, is concerned about the growing threat of secularism in SVG, he used an example of a Christian Registrar in the London borough of Islington, who was disciplined for refusing to do her job in officiating at a gay civil union.{{more}} Previously, in May 2011, Camillo Gonsalves (Permanent Representative to the UN) told the Human Rights Council, regarding decriminalizing same sex relationships in SVG, that there is currently no mood for these changes, as these laws are widely accepted by society. Much of the anti-gay rhetoric in SVG is fueled by Biblical references, which is re-enforced by the “threat of secularism” and the refusal to decriminalize same sex relationships. It’s easier to hate people when they are demonized and this is sanctioned by governments.

Many countries strive to separate Church and State and this concept is hundreds of years old. It reduces the problems of religious dogma in formulating public policy that results in discrimination. Effective government is supposed to protect the rights of minorities in a democratic institution, not discriminate and use the excuse that society allows it. If slavery, women’s rights to vote and interracial marriage were placed in the hands of the majority in its time, as referendums, where would we be today? I may still be picking cotton, hopefully singing happily in the fields.

I have heard that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states that being homosexual is an abomination, so this justifies the criminalization of same sex relationships. SVG is a God-fearing country they say, and public policy is based on God’s laws. But shouldn’t the rules apply to all, instead of one group being the exception? God doesn’t play favourites, right?

I can believe that you believe that I am going to hell because I am gay and I am ok with that. My problem is the deafening hypocrisy where you pick and choose from the Bible to use as a stick to subjugate and marginalize others, while your own lives are securely unexamined.

So, to be fair, as I am not given the opportunity to vote on your rights, I have a few suggestions of my own based on the Bible. Adultery and fornication should be criminalized. Eating shellfish also, because the Bible clearly states that it too is an abomination (Leviticus 11:10). I don’t think God squabbles over degrees of abomination. Slavery should be decriminalized, as Leviticus 25:44 states that I can possess slaves, as long they are purchased from neighbouring nations. How about a few from Barbados and some from Grenada? It would be so much cheaper than having to pay someone to mow the law and tend to the kitchen garden. There should be a law prohibiting wearing garments made of two different kinds of threads (Leviticus 19:19). Pure cotton is so much cooler anyway in hot weather, so this one is not a huge loss.

I don’t see the point of criminalizing sexuality between two consenting adults other than old-fashioned hatred. Who is the victim of the two? If you are against same sex relationships, then don’t have a relationship with someone of the same sex. Period. How you treat others is only a reflection of yourself. The government of SVG, like most developing, small island nations, has limited resources and there are more pressing issues to deal with that I can think of. A United Nations crime survey in 2007 states that SVG, has the third highest incidence of reported rape in the World and I read that we also have the highest femicide rate in the OECS, only to have a government Minister tell women to dress properly and don’t tempt men. Problem solved.

SVG will eventually have to decriminalize same sex relationships because World pressure is mounting and life always finds a way. These discriminatory laws should not be removed involuntarily, but because it’s the right thing to do. It sets the tone that all citizens are valued, regardless of their sexual preference. Martin Luther King said, “it may be true that the law cannot change the heart but it can restrain the heartless”.

Sean Macleish