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Stabroek News

Homosexuality: a defining moral issue
published: Sunday | April 29, 2007


Clinton (left) and Obama, liberal supporters of gay rights.

Newton Gabbidon, Contributor

Please offer me the opportunity through this venue to thank your veteran journalist, Ian Boyne, for his very informative and well-written article entitled 'Religion and Gay Rights', which appeared in the Sunday, March 18, issue of the Jamaica Gleaner online.

I was not aware of the particular legal case in England, which he wrote about, but that case and others I have been following here in the U.S. and especially in Brazil, which are seeking to restrict private and religious speech against homosexuality, are quite alarming.

One of those cases involves the recent statement made by General Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of the United States Military, implying that homosexuality is immoral and should not be condoned in the U.S. military. He has come under fire not only from gay-rights activists but from members of Congress now seeking to overturn the 'Don't ask, don't tell law' which prohibits gays in the military from publicly declaring their homosexual position or from engaging in homosexual acts in the military.

If the Democratically-controlled Congress succeeds on the motion, this will clearly set the stage for the military to outlaw its age-old policy of viewing homosexuality as an immoral act, the position taken by military officers like General Pace at the Pentagon, who help to shape policies affecting codes of conduct in the U.S. armed services.

The 'Don't ask, don't tell' law, which was implemented during the Clinton administration, has since seen scores of U.S. servicemen dismissed from the U.S. armed services and is viewed by Democrats in Congress seeking to overturn it as a law that encourages discrimination against qualified gays in the military. That bill, which is likely to be voted on soon, could also set the stage for a much wider-sweeping bill seeking to make homosexuality a human rights issue, which would have negative implications for freedom of speech.

Liberals in Congress, like Senator Clinton and Obama, both presidential contenders in the 2008 presidential election, have already made their position clear that homosexuality is not an immoral act and any attempt to classify it that way is viewed as discriminatory against gays and lesbians, thus paving the way for further debate on the issue, as the presidential debate gets under way.

No doubt, like the gay marriage issue, which helped set the political agenda for the 2004 election, homosexuality is certainly one of those issues that is bound to feature high up on the political agenda and it may well help to determine the outcome of the next presidential election.

Defining moral issues

Boyne has clearly shown that homosexuality is clearly one of those defining moral issues that is certainly determining the culture and politics of our times and clearly argues his case about some of the major challenges that countries like Jamaica could face in dealing with the problem of homosexuality. His point that it is wrong to categorise homosexuality as a human right is well taken. This is where the problem really lies, and as long as homosexuality continues to be viewed as a racial and gender right, then we can expect legal outcomes in favour of gay rights as was decided on by the British House of Commons and House of Lords.

I think Mr. Boyne's concern about Jamaica being pressured by international lobby groups to comply through the withholding of economic aid and diplomatic privileges is justified not implied in the article, it is important to note, however, that this should not be viewed as a reason for Jamaicans to surrender its free-speech rights to speak out against homosexuality, just because British citizens have been forced into surrendering theirs to strong liberals and gay-rights blocks that continue to wield significant influence in the legal, political and economic spheres of European societies.

An uphill battle

It needs to be recognised that the apparent victory in this case is not yet a done deal for all of Western civilisation. Europe, yes, but it is certainly not yet the case in the U.S., which is still under the strong influence of orthodox Christian values promoted by a vibrant activist evangelical community, which views homosexuality as an immoral act, and which is one of the reasons why Congress could still face an uphill battle passing laws bridling free speech against, homosexuality, and why the Democratic candidate could fail against his or her Republican counterpart in the presidential bid for the White House should that issue become a focal one in the 2008 presidential campaign.

I think that the U.S. experience is an important one that Christian organisations, like the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship Mr. Boyne mentioned in his article, should take note of as they prepare to lead the fight against European liberals and gay-rights activists seeking to put pressure on Jamaican lawmakers to make changes to the Jamaican laws in favour of homosexual rights on the basis argued in the House of Lord and House of Commons, given the clear similarity between Jamaican and U.S. culture in terms of religious values and attitudes towards homosexuality.

There is much that they can learn from the U.S. evangelical community in terms of dealing with this and other issues. It is also important for them to note that unlike the members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, who are the products of an immoral secular humanistic society, our parliamentarians and lawmakers are the products of a culture, that despite its deficiencies, is still considered deeply religious and polarised against homosexuality.

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