{"id":176071,"date":"2023-06-12T08:28:08","date_gmt":"2023-06-12T12:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=176071"},"modified":"2023-06-12T08:36:49","modified_gmt":"2023-06-12T12:36:49","slug":"historic-ruling-strikes-down-anti-sodomy-laws-in-antigua-and-barbuda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/historic-ruling-strikes-down-anti-sodomy-laws-in-antigua-and-barbuda\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the LGBTQ activist who challenged his Caribbean country\u2019s anti-sodomy law and won"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SOURCE:\u00a0 AP \u2014<\/strong> For years, Orden David was persecuted in his native Antigua and Barbuda \u2014 a frequent complaint by many LGBTQ people who fear for their safety across the conservative and mostly Christian Caribbean, where anti-gay hostility is widespread.<\/p>

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David was bullied and ridiculed.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>

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More recently, another stranger struck him in the face in broad daylight, knocking him out.<\/p>

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That\u2019s when he had enough.<\/p>\n

Facing ostracism and risking his life as the public face of the LGBTQ movement, David took his government to court in 2022 to demand an end to his country\u2019s anti-sodomy law.<\/p>

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\u201cI realized that with our community, we\u2019ve gone through a lot and there\u2019s no justice for us,\u201d Orden told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all have rights. And we all deserve the same treatment.\u201d<\/p>

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Last year, a top Caribbean court ruled that the anti-sodomy provision of Antigua\u2019s sexual offenses act was unconstitutional.<\/p>

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LGBTQ-rights activists say David\u2019s effort, with the help of local and regional advocacy groups, has set a precedent for a growing number of Caribbean islands.<\/p>\n

Since the ruling, St. Kitts & Nevis and Barbados, have struck down similar laws that often seek long prison sentences.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a legal and historic moment for Antigua and Barbuda,\u201d said Alexandrina Wong, director of the local non-governmental organization Women Against Rape, which joined the litigation coordinated by the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Caribbean governments are getting a good grip of what the world looks like and how we can reshape our history and \u2026 the future of the Caribbean people,\u201d Wong said.<\/p>\n

The ruling said Antigua\u2019s 1995 Sexual Offences Act \u201coffends the right to liberty, protection of the law, freedom of expression, protection of personal privacy and protection from discrimination on the basis of sex.\u201d<\/p>\n

Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne told the AP that his government decided not to challenge the ruling: \u201cWe respected the fact that there should be no discrimination within society,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a government, we have a constitutional responsibility to respect the rights of all and not to discriminate.\u201d<\/p>\n

The law stated that two consenting adults found guilty of having anal sex would face 15 years in prison.<\/p>\n

If found guilty of serious indecency, they faced five years in prison.<\/p>\n