The Editor, Sir:

Regardless of the crime situation that exists on our island, Jamaica for the most part is a God-fearing society and sees the objection to homosexuality as the moral high ground. Persons have recently written that the stance is an ignorant one in light of their recent exposure to the phenomenon in the United States, but is it ignorance because we are morally opposed to a form of behaviour that other Western superpowers may condone or even endorse? I posit that this is not the case.

In 2007, our nation has the right to state its own stance on the issue of homosexuality without any condemnation from anyone, because no one's beliefs or practices should be forced upon us. Jamaica does not exist within a vacuum, but it is our country and it is us that have to live here, so we should do, legally, whatever it takes to make us comfortable in our own environment. That said, there is no excuse for any violence against anyone for any reason. Each individual is called upon to make his own decision and only God is called upon to judge.

We will also be called upon to interact with persons of such persuasion for business, educa-tional and cultural reasons and must learn how to sometimes take our feelings and emotions out of such undertaking. Please, let us preserve our moral rejection of homosexuality and not paint a picture of acceptability for our young and impressionable children while learning that it is not our right to exact judgement on persons who choose a homosexual lifestyle.

I am, etc.,

A concerned citizen

erizistable@gmail.com

Santa Cruz P.O.

St. Elizabeth

Via Go-Jamaica