This is definitely a sad state of affairs for Jamaica. If they don't want their own citizens living there, then how could they welcome tourists? It's simply uneducated bigotry that must be addressed at higher levels. Stop tourism, impose trade sanctions, speak to sensible Jamaicans, and take a stance. This must be stopped!
A Jamaican town where a "Gay Eradication Day" had been proclaimed expelled all gay and lesbian residents on Oct. 30.
An article that same day appeared at Digital Journal.com, which reported that the people of East Kingston’s McGregor Gully had given gays there two weeks to get out--with Oct. 30 being the deadline. Residents declared that any gays still in the town after the deadline would "suffer the consequences," the article said.
Hiompohobia is deeply rooted in Jamiacan culture, and is relfectedbothin the countruy’s music and its religious traditions, which are both Rastafarian and evangelical Christian. Anti-gay attacks have been widely reported in recent years; anti-gay mobs have attacked and murdered gays, going so far as to break into private homes to carry out acts of anti-gay violence.
The justification given by residents of McGregor Gully echoed the rationales cited by anti-gay groups in the United States. Residents claimed that they were acting in defense of their families, the article said, as well as to protect the reputation of their community.
Anti-gay claims in McGregor Gully also echoed American anti-gay accusations of public sex committed by gays. Locals claimed that lesbians would congregate at a specific spot to "kiss, hug, and even touch each other," the article said, but anger at the lesbians spilled over onto gay men as well.
The article reported that the residents swore to ensure that their town was "gay free," and that they were willing to take "extreme measures" to accomplish their goal. Such "extreme measures" have, in past instances, included kicking, beating, and machete attacks.
Critics of Jamaican homophobia say that government officials, including the police, do not offer gays there any protection, often merely watching as mobs attack gays or else participating in beatings and other abuses themselves. American gay Christian group Metropolitan Community Churches has sought to intervene in anti-gay violence in Jamaica, though with little success. American LGBT eqwuality groupos have also encouraged tourism boycotts of the island nation, as well as protesting a recent American tour of "murder music" dancehall star Buju Banton, whose song "Boom Bye Bye" describes shooting gays in the head and then burning their bodies.
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