While many westernized nations around the world are progressing, albeit slowly in some places such as the United States, many nations still persecute members of the LGBT community solely for being who they are. Recently a male couple chose to participate in a marriage ceremony in the African replublic of Malawi, a region where gay lifestyle is shunned upon, most likely as a result of ignorance. It is a very brave move for anyone to stand up and take a stance, and I think global organizations such as United Nations and Amnesty International need to get involved immmediately to prevent these two innocent individuals from going to jail.
Malawi's government recently defended the prosecution of this couple, and Information Minister Leckford Mwanza Thoto noted that Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga were clearly breaking the laws of Malawi. He was quoted in the Mail and Guardian online as saying, "Despite Malawi depending on international aid, the country is a sovereign country with its own laws and must not be influenced by the West in the running of its affairs of state."
Monjeze and Chimbalanga were arrested on December 28th after holding a wedding ceremony in Blantyre. They face up to 14 years in prison if convicted. They have pleaded not guilty to the charges and have been remanded in custody after failing to secure bail.
The men's lawyers are arguing that the prosecution is unconstitutional and have asked for a review of the country's homosexuality laws. Their legal team has asked for the case to be held before the Constitutional Court, but the presiding judge in Blantyre has said he will continue with the trial until the higher court accepts the case. The trial is expected to resume next week.
Since their arrest the police and government has allowed these men to be publicly ridiculed, held in jail without sufficient reason, and have succumbed to considerable stress and inhumane living conditions that has brought on severe illness and health concerns. The time to act is now. Send word out to the world that ignorance, disrimination and inhumanity will not be tolerated.
Government of Malawi - www.malawi.gov.mw
United Nations - www.un.org
Amnesty International - www.amnesty.org
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More on Malawi -
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and it borders Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size is over 118,000 km² with an estimated population of more than 13,900,000. Its capital is Lilongwe, the biggest city is Blantyre. The name Malawi comes from the Maravi, an old name of the Nyanja people that inhabit the area.
Malawi was first settled during the 10th century and remained under native rule until 1891 when it was colonized by the British, who ruled the country until 1964. Upon gaining independence it became a single-party state under the presidency of Hastings Banda, who remained president until 1994, when he was ousted from power. Bingu Mutharika, elected in 2004, is the current president. Malawi has a democratic, multi-party government. Malawi has a small military force that includes an army, a navy and an air wing. Malawi's foreign policy is pro-Western and includes positive diplomatic relations with most countries and participation in several international organizations.
Malawi is among the world's least developed and most densely populated countries. The economy is heavily based in agriculture, with a largely rural population. The Malawian government depends heavily on outside aid to meet development needs, although this need (and the aid offered) has decreased since 2000. The Malawian government faces challenges in growing the economy, improving education, health care and the environmental protection and becoming financially independent. Malawi has several programs developed since 2005 that focus on these issues, and the country's outlook appears to be improving, with improvements in economic growth, education and healthcare seen in 2007 and 2008.
Malawi has a low life expectancy and high infant mortality. There is a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, which is a drain on the labor force and government expenditures, and is expected to have a significant impact on gross domestic product (GDP) by 2010. There is a diverse population of native peoples, Asians and Europeans, with several languages spoken and an array of religious beliefs. Although there was tribal conflict in the past, by 2008 it had diminished considerably and the concept of a Malawian nationality had begun to form. Malawi has a culture combining native and colonial aspects, including sports, art, dance and music.
Showing posts with label hate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hate. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Obama Dines With Killer
David Bahati, the MP who authored Uganda's anti-homosexuality bill, is expected to attend a prayer breakfast with US president Barack Obama.
Bahati told the Ugandan newspaper Sunday Monitor he would be attending the National Prayer Breakfast on February 4th.
The event usually attended by the president, who the newspaper described as a "gays-tolerant liberal president".
The breakfast is organised by The Fellowship – a secretive conservative Christian organisation which is also known as The Family. Its members include politicians, religious leaders and corporate executives.
Bahati may be asked to speak at the event, which will also be attended by Congress members and Cabinet secretaries. Previous speakers have included Tony Blair, Bono and Mother Theresa.
Uganda's president Yoweri Museveni signalled last week that he was stepping back from the bill, which would execute gays in some circumstances.
He said his country must consider its "foreign interests" and cited world leaders such as British prime minister Gordon Brown, who had expressed his concern about the proposed legislation.
Bahati, the MP for Ndorwa West, has refused to back down, saying his bill will "protect the traditional family".
The country's minister for ethics James Nsaba Buturo said recently he believed Museveni did not support the death penalty for gays and said the provision was likely to be removed from the bill.
Aston Kajara, minister of state for investments, has also said the bill is "unnecessary".
The bill would impose the death penalty on gays who sex with minors, disabled people or while living with HIV, along with repeat offenders. Other homosexuality offences, such as failing to report incidents to police, would result in imprisonment.
It is expected to come before parliament in late February or early March.
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The main sponsor of Uganda's "kill the gays" bill, David Bahati, is planning to attend the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C. in February, Uganda's Sunday Monitor reports:
David_bahati "Mr Bahati, according to reports, may speak at the event where President Barack Obama – a gays-tolerant liberal president, is also expected to attend. On Friday, Mr Bahati said he would attend. The event is organised by The Fellowship- a conservative Christian organisation, which has deep political connections and counts several high-ranking conservative politicians in its membership. 'I intend to attend the prayer breakfast,' said Mr Bahati - himself a part organiser of the Ugandan equivalent of the national prayer breakfast. This week, citing international pressure, President Yoweri Museveni advised his party’s National Executive Committee, his cabinet and the NRM parliamentary caucus to 'go slow' on the Bill. Mr Bahati told Inside Politics he is set to meet a special cabinet session to discuss the Bill tomorrow. 'The nature of legislation is such that one cannot have a final version. There are bound to be amendments but the process will go on,' he said. The entire affair has given the Museveni administration its worst spate of bad publicity in recent times. Mr Museveni called it a foreign policy matter - elevating the Bill to the status of other concerns for the government like its engagement in the African Union and the United Nations Security Council."
"The Fellowship" is aka "The Family".
Last week, it was announced that prominent Ugandan evangelical pastor (and pal of Rick Warren) Martin Ssempa was planning a "Million Man March" to demonstrate popular support for the "kill the gays" bill.
--------
A media personality who has been accused of homophobia will reportedly be appointed South Africa's ambassador to Uganda next month.
Jon Qwelane, a writer for the Sunday Sun, has used his column to espouse his views on homosexuality. He has attacked gay marriage and said he would disown his children if any were to come out as gay.
He has also praised Robert Mugabe for his "unflinching and unapologetic" views on homosexuality. The Zimbabwe president described gays and lesbians as "sub-animal".
Opposition party Democratic Alliance called Qwelane an "admitted homophobe" and said his appointment could be seen as a "tacit endorsement" of Uganda's current stance on homosexuality.
Uganda's parliament is currently considering a bill which would execute or imprison gays. The bill is expected to receive strong support when it is debated this spring.
Gay groups in South Africa have also reacted angrily to Qwelane's reported appointment with SA GLAAD calling him a "disgraced" homophobe.
Christina Engela, of SA GLAAD, told PinkNews.co.uk: "This is a resounding slap in the face to the pink community in South Africa and coupled with the government's failure to condemn the Ugandan genocide bill, it gives tacit approval to Ugandan human rights violations – and raises valid concerns about the future of gay rights in this country also."
The South African press has reported that President Jacob Zuma will announce Qwelane's appointment next month. Qwelane supported Zuma when he was accused of corruption.
The Sunday Times said that the International Relations department was waiting for Uganda to approve the choice.
--------
More about the National Prayer Breakfast -
The National Prayer Breakfast is a yearly event held in Washington, D.C., on the first Thursday of February each year. The founder of this event was Abraham Vereide.[1] The event—which is actually a series of meetings, luncheons, and dinners—has taken place since 1953 and has been held at least since the 1980s at the Washington Hilton on Connecticut Avenue N.W.
The breakfast, held in the Hilton’s International Ballroom, is attended by some 3,500 guests, including international invitees from over 100 countries. The National Prayer Breakfast is hosted by members of the United States Congress and is organized on their behalf by The Fellowship Foundation, a conservative Christian organization more widely known as "The Family." Initially called the Presidential Prayer Breakfast, the name was changed in 1970 to the National Prayer Breakfast.
It is designed to be a forum for political, social and business leaders of the world to assemble together and build relationships which might not otherwise be possible. ("[T]he breakfast is regarded by the Family as merely a tool in a larger purpose: to recruit the powerful attendees into smaller, more frequent prayer meetings, where they can 'meet Jesus man to man.'"[2]) Since the inception of the National Prayer Breakfast, several U.S. states and cities and other countries have established their own annual prayer breakfast events.
The event has been criticized by organizations such as American Atheists and the Freedom From Religion Foundation,[3] who describe it as violating separation of church and state.
Bahati told the Ugandan newspaper Sunday Monitor he would be attending the National Prayer Breakfast on February 4th.
The event usually attended by the president, who the newspaper described as a "gays-tolerant liberal president".
The breakfast is organised by The Fellowship – a secretive conservative Christian organisation which is also known as The Family. Its members include politicians, religious leaders and corporate executives.
Bahati may be asked to speak at the event, which will also be attended by Congress members and Cabinet secretaries. Previous speakers have included Tony Blair, Bono and Mother Theresa.
Uganda's president Yoweri Museveni signalled last week that he was stepping back from the bill, which would execute gays in some circumstances.
He said his country must consider its "foreign interests" and cited world leaders such as British prime minister Gordon Brown, who had expressed his concern about the proposed legislation.
Bahati, the MP for Ndorwa West, has refused to back down, saying his bill will "protect the traditional family".
The country's minister for ethics James Nsaba Buturo said recently he believed Museveni did not support the death penalty for gays and said the provision was likely to be removed from the bill.
Aston Kajara, minister of state for investments, has also said the bill is "unnecessary".
The bill would impose the death penalty on gays who sex with minors, disabled people or while living with HIV, along with repeat offenders. Other homosexuality offences, such as failing to report incidents to police, would result in imprisonment.
It is expected to come before parliament in late February or early March.
-------
The main sponsor of Uganda's "kill the gays" bill, David Bahati, is planning to attend the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C. in February, Uganda's Sunday Monitor reports:
David_bahati "Mr Bahati, according to reports, may speak at the event where President Barack Obama – a gays-tolerant liberal president, is also expected to attend. On Friday, Mr Bahati said he would attend. The event is organised by The Fellowship- a conservative Christian organisation, which has deep political connections and counts several high-ranking conservative politicians in its membership. 'I intend to attend the prayer breakfast,' said Mr Bahati - himself a part organiser of the Ugandan equivalent of the national prayer breakfast. This week, citing international pressure, President Yoweri Museveni advised his party’s National Executive Committee, his cabinet and the NRM parliamentary caucus to 'go slow' on the Bill. Mr Bahati told Inside Politics he is set to meet a special cabinet session to discuss the Bill tomorrow. 'The nature of legislation is such that one cannot have a final version. There are bound to be amendments but the process will go on,' he said. The entire affair has given the Museveni administration its worst spate of bad publicity in recent times. Mr Museveni called it a foreign policy matter - elevating the Bill to the status of other concerns for the government like its engagement in the African Union and the United Nations Security Council."
"The Fellowship" is aka "The Family".
Last week, it was announced that prominent Ugandan evangelical pastor (and pal of Rick Warren) Martin Ssempa was planning a "Million Man March" to demonstrate popular support for the "kill the gays" bill.
--------
A media personality who has been accused of homophobia will reportedly be appointed South Africa's ambassador to Uganda next month.
Jon Qwelane, a writer for the Sunday Sun, has used his column to espouse his views on homosexuality. He has attacked gay marriage and said he would disown his children if any were to come out as gay.
He has also praised Robert Mugabe for his "unflinching and unapologetic" views on homosexuality. The Zimbabwe president described gays and lesbians as "sub-animal".
Opposition party Democratic Alliance called Qwelane an "admitted homophobe" and said his appointment could be seen as a "tacit endorsement" of Uganda's current stance on homosexuality.
Uganda's parliament is currently considering a bill which would execute or imprison gays. The bill is expected to receive strong support when it is debated this spring.
Gay groups in South Africa have also reacted angrily to Qwelane's reported appointment with SA GLAAD calling him a "disgraced" homophobe.
Christina Engela, of SA GLAAD, told PinkNews.co.uk: "This is a resounding slap in the face to the pink community in South Africa and coupled with the government's failure to condemn the Ugandan genocide bill, it gives tacit approval to Ugandan human rights violations – and raises valid concerns about the future of gay rights in this country also."
The South African press has reported that President Jacob Zuma will announce Qwelane's appointment next month. Qwelane supported Zuma when he was accused of corruption.
The Sunday Times said that the International Relations department was waiting for Uganda to approve the choice.
--------
More about the National Prayer Breakfast -
The National Prayer Breakfast is a yearly event held in Washington, D.C., on the first Thursday of February each year. The founder of this event was Abraham Vereide.[1] The event—which is actually a series of meetings, luncheons, and dinners—has taken place since 1953 and has been held at least since the 1980s at the Washington Hilton on Connecticut Avenue N.W.
The breakfast, held in the Hilton’s International Ballroom, is attended by some 3,500 guests, including international invitees from over 100 countries. The National Prayer Breakfast is hosted by members of the United States Congress and is organized on their behalf by The Fellowship Foundation, a conservative Christian organization more widely known as "The Family." Initially called the Presidential Prayer Breakfast, the name was changed in 1970 to the National Prayer Breakfast.
It is designed to be a forum for political, social and business leaders of the world to assemble together and build relationships which might not otherwise be possible. ("[T]he breakfast is regarded by the Family as merely a tool in a larger purpose: to recruit the powerful attendees into smaller, more frequent prayer meetings, where they can 'meet Jesus man to man.'"[2]) Since the inception of the National Prayer Breakfast, several U.S. states and cities and other countries have established their own annual prayer breakfast events.
The event has been criticized by organizations such as American Atheists and the Freedom From Religion Foundation,[3] who describe it as violating separation of church and state.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
11 Year Old Kills Himself After Being Called Gay
This is most disturbing knowing that someone as young as 11 could be so affected by name calling and bullying by their peers. These slanderous and discriminatory remarks are always hurtful and potentially fateful.
Massachusetts lawmakers are mulling a bill that would put teeth into a law on the books since 1993 that addresses bullying in public schools. LGBT activists are pleased, but they remain concerned over the lack of transgender-specific protections.
Proposals to strengthen the statute come partially as a result of the suicide of an 11-year-old boy last April after classmates bullied and harassed him because they thought he was gay. They called him "faggot," and said he acted like a girl and made fun of his clothes.
Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, a junior at New Leadership Charter School in Springfield, hanged himself with an electrical cord in his bedroom. He left a note to his family that said he loved them and gave his Pokémon cards to a six-year-old brother.
His mother, Sirdeaner Walker, was among those who testified the Joint Committee on Education on Nov. 17 to support House Bill 483, the most comprehensive of 11 bills before Beacon Hill lawmakers.
"What could make a child his age despair so much that he would take his own life? That question haunts me today,’’ she told committee members. "Those kids called him those names because they knew they were the most hurtful things they could say to him, and they hit their mark.’’
Sponsored by state Rep. John Rogers [D-Norfolk,] HB 483 would require schools to report all incidents of bullying and abuse to the state. Massachusetts enacted a law 16 years ago that prohibits bullying and harassment in schools based on sexual orientation, but it doesn’t include a mandatory reporting mechanism.
Activists credit Kevin Jennings, who founded the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network in Boston in 1990, for helping make the 1993 law a reality. He left GLSEN in Nov. 2008 and now heads the
U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools.
EDGE interviewed Eliza Byard, his successor as GLSEN executive director, by phone at her New York office. She said she feels as good as HB 483 is, the bill does not go far enough because it omits gender identity.
"The other issue is that the bill as currently written would not have necessarily helped specifically in Carl’s case," she explained. "Anti-discrimination measures refer specifically to the identity of the target. We do not know what Carl might have thought of his sexual orientation and unfortunately will never know."
Whether Walker-Hoover was gay or not is beside the point, Byard emphasized. She further stressed someone subjected to anti-LGBT bullying should not have to prove their sexual orientation or gender identity to get the protection they need. And Byard further addressed two concerns bill opponents continue to raise-it will inhibit free speech and create new criminal statutes.
She pointed out the First Amendment does not protect slurs such as "faggot," a term bullies frequently used against LGBT students. And Byard added she believes education, not criminalization, is the way to address the problem.
"These are problems that involve two people in need of help-the target and the bully," she explained. "Students who bully have the need to express power over other students. They need help, too."
Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley, who testified at the committee hearing, agreed.
"[HR 483] will not create new criminal statutes," he pointed out. "It will not infringe upon free speech. It will not create new grounds for a lawsuit. What it will do is provide a comprehensive and common-sense framework for school districts to create and enforce their anti-bullying policies."
Byard said GLSEN will let lawmakers know its concerns with the bill and is working closely with its Massachusetts chapter, the Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth and other local organizations.
BAGLY Executive Director Grace Sterling Stowell also stressed her position on the importance of including gender identity in the bill language in a phone interview with EDGE.
"It’s often most visible and often makes those young people more of a target," she said.
Stowell further echoed Byard’s comments about perception.
"The issue is not who someone is," she emphasized. "It is how they are perceived to be."
BAGLY, she added, works more with LGBT youth in the community than in schools. And bullying is just as much a problem outside the classroom.
"Facebook, My Space, twittering, e-mails--there are many ways bullies can target LGBTs and people in general," Stowell said.
She added she feels bullying seriously affects its targets--they are unable to perform well in school and may become victims of assault or violence. And they may even harm or kill themselves as Walker-Hoover did.
Massachusetts lawmakers are mulling a bill that would put teeth into a law on the books since 1993 that addresses bullying in public schools. LGBT activists are pleased, but they remain concerned over the lack of transgender-specific protections.
Proposals to strengthen the statute come partially as a result of the suicide of an 11-year-old boy last April after classmates bullied and harassed him because they thought he was gay. They called him "faggot," and said he acted like a girl and made fun of his clothes.
Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, a junior at New Leadership Charter School in Springfield, hanged himself with an electrical cord in his bedroom. He left a note to his family that said he loved them and gave his Pokémon cards to a six-year-old brother.
His mother, Sirdeaner Walker, was among those who testified the Joint Committee on Education on Nov. 17 to support House Bill 483, the most comprehensive of 11 bills before Beacon Hill lawmakers.
"What could make a child his age despair so much that he would take his own life? That question haunts me today,’’ she told committee members. "Those kids called him those names because they knew they were the most hurtful things they could say to him, and they hit their mark.’’
Sponsored by state Rep. John Rogers [D-Norfolk,] HB 483 would require schools to report all incidents of bullying and abuse to the state. Massachusetts enacted a law 16 years ago that prohibits bullying and harassment in schools based on sexual orientation, but it doesn’t include a mandatory reporting mechanism.
Activists credit Kevin Jennings, who founded the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network in Boston in 1990, for helping make the 1993 law a reality. He left GLSEN in Nov. 2008 and now heads the
U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools.
EDGE interviewed Eliza Byard, his successor as GLSEN executive director, by phone at her New York office. She said she feels as good as HB 483 is, the bill does not go far enough because it omits gender identity.
"The other issue is that the bill as currently written would not have necessarily helped specifically in Carl’s case," she explained. "Anti-discrimination measures refer specifically to the identity of the target. We do not know what Carl might have thought of his sexual orientation and unfortunately will never know."
Whether Walker-Hoover was gay or not is beside the point, Byard emphasized. She further stressed someone subjected to anti-LGBT bullying should not have to prove their sexual orientation or gender identity to get the protection they need. And Byard further addressed two concerns bill opponents continue to raise-it will inhibit free speech and create new criminal statutes.
She pointed out the First Amendment does not protect slurs such as "faggot," a term bullies frequently used against LGBT students. And Byard added she believes education, not criminalization, is the way to address the problem.
"These are problems that involve two people in need of help-the target and the bully," she explained. "Students who bully have the need to express power over other students. They need help, too."
Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley, who testified at the committee hearing, agreed.
"[HR 483] will not create new criminal statutes," he pointed out. "It will not infringe upon free speech. It will not create new grounds for a lawsuit. What it will do is provide a comprehensive and common-sense framework for school districts to create and enforce their anti-bullying policies."
Byard said GLSEN will let lawmakers know its concerns with the bill and is working closely with its Massachusetts chapter, the Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth and other local organizations.
BAGLY Executive Director Grace Sterling Stowell also stressed her position on the importance of including gender identity in the bill language in a phone interview with EDGE.
"It’s often most visible and often makes those young people more of a target," she said.
Stowell further echoed Byard’s comments about perception.
"The issue is not who someone is," she emphasized. "It is how they are perceived to be."
BAGLY, she added, works more with LGBT youth in the community than in schools. And bullying is just as much a problem outside the classroom.
"Facebook, My Space, twittering, e-mails--there are many ways bullies can target LGBTs and people in general," Stowell said.
She added she feels bullying seriously affects its targets--they are unable to perform well in school and may become victims of assault or violence. And they may even harm or kill themselves as Walker-Hoover did.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Jamaican Gay Eradication Day - WTF?
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.
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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