For years, Orden David was persecuted in his native Antigua and Barbuda -- a frequent complaint by many LGBTQ2S+ people who fear for their safety across the conservative and mostly Christian Caribbean, where anti-gay hostility is widespread.
David was bullied and ridiculed. One time, a man stepped out of a car, made a comment about how a gay man was walking on the street late at night, then hit him in the head. More recently, another stranger struck him in the face in broad daylight, knocking him out. That's when he had enough.Facing ostracism and risking his life as the public face of the LGBTQ2S+ movement, David took his government to court in 2022 to demand an end to his country's anti-sodomy law.
"Our Caribbean governments are getting a good grip of what the world looks like and how we can reshape our history and … the future of the Caribbean people," Wong said. Such laws used to be common in former European colonies across the Caribbean but have been challenged in recent years. Courts in Belize and Trinidad and Tobago have found such laws unconstitutional; other cases in the region are pending.
LGBT2S+ people in such countries, face "a constitution that criminalizes them on one end, and a religion that says they're an abomination," said Kenita Placide, executive director for The Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality. Discrimination against LGBTQ2S+ people persists in the Caribbean. Some conservative lawmakers and religious leaders oppose the abolition of anti-gay laws invoking God in their arguments and calling gay relationships a sin.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Biden marks LGBTQ2S+ Pride Month with celebration on White House South LawnPride Month is being celebrated this year as state lawmakers have introduced at least 525 bills and enacted 78 bills that whittle away at LGBTQ+ rights, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a group that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer rights
Read more »
Success at age 12: Meet uOttawa's newest bachelor of science graduateThe youngest graduate in the 175\u002Dyear history of the University of Ottawa has earned a bachelor of science degree.
Read more »
Meet uOttawa's newest bachelor of science graduate: She's 12The youngest graduate in the 175\u002Dyear history of the University of Ottawa has earned a bachelor of science degree.
Read more »
Meet uOttawa's newest bachelor of science graduate: She's 12The youngest graduate in the 175\u002Dyear history of the University of Ottawa has earned a bachelor of science degree.
Read more »
Prime Minister Trudeau in Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.Talks between the two leaders are expected to focus on additional Canadian military support to Ukraine, as well as the role Ottawa can play in helping to rebuild the war-battered country.
Read more »