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Indeed , Jamaican’s don’t live in a theocracy, yet. It’s none of Mr. Smith’s business what sexual shenanigans anybody gets up to in their private lives as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone. The root cause of the anti-homosexual agitators is simple personal distaste. And personal distaste is not of itself a good reason for making anything illegal.

There is something pathetic about people who pore into history books or purporting to tighten legislations seeking support for their prejudices. Don’t Mr. Smith has anything better to do? Getting the roads in St. Ann fixed? Helping to create better opportunities for people in his constituency? Purporting measures to lower the murder rate? After all, the legislations of three or four thousand years ago are not always justifiable today in the civilized world. All ancient holy books (including the Old Testament) report the ancient gods’ approval of slavery, rape, racism, sexism and mass slaughter. But times and customs have changed; those practices are no longer the virtues they once were.

It is evident by Mr. Smith’s utterance, that he rejects civilized standards of tolerance, and wants discrimination to be allowed as long as it’s justifiable. Indeed , two generations ago discrimination against blacks was justifiable in the United States, southern Africa, and half the nations of Europe. The ruling classes decreed that it was not natural for blacks and whites to eat together, sleep together or sit next to one another on the buses. The Governments of those places despised blacks, gays, liberals and outside agitators. Today the Governments have changed; but many of their people haven’t changed their prejudices – and have even added some to the list.

As racism erode other prejudices slipped into its place. Prejudice is as prejudice does. A US historian once wrote, “Politics, as a practice, has always been the systematic organization of hatreds.” Discrimination is catching, that’s the poison of it. If the doctrine of justifiable discrimination were to become entrenched, who might its next victims be? According to our present Government it is now justifiable to Gay and Lesbians to be beaten, prosecuted and murdered and has no defence against the courtroom wiles and tricks of professional lawyers like Ernest Smith. They will be denied the full protection of the law, in defiance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.This discrimination that Ernest Smith proliferate is a very risky enterprise because it confirms Jamaica’s steady retreat from of the Articles of the Universal Declaration specifically forbid discrimination against minority groups, either explicitly or implicitly.

Ernest Smith’s bigotry is bound to affect our image among the international community and the legal professional. The international community who supports the Articles of the Universal Declaration and who don’t have to visit, support or do business with Jamaica will not have much confidence or feel safe about visiting or doing business in a jurisdiction that is gradually distancing itself from the rule of Human Rights. And the local legal professional themselves: what does it do for their personal reputations when they accept this situation without protest? How much time before their silence is taken as collaboration?

Bruce Golding, Prime Minister and Leader of JLP was widely critisized for his lack of diplomacy when he made a homophobic statement in an interview. He was not only seen as repognant but he also lost the respect of the British Government, the British people and Jamaicans residing in the United Kingdom. Mr. Ernest Smith a JLP Member of Parliament is now echoing similar sentiments. If this is a widespread belief of the Jamaica Labour Party, God help Jamaica!!!! This would be a licence to abuse and murder people indiscrminately in a nation whose crime and violence rate is so rapidly increaseing out of proportion. Indeed, the police force which bore no great admiration from some Jamaicans, undoubtly, since Ernest Smith\'s statement, will be subjected to added disrespect and abuse in the execution of their duties.

The International anti-homosexual lobby, like the anti-immigrant lobby and the anti-Legal-Aid lobby, should draw support and inspiration from the utterance of Mr. Ernest Smith and denounce his statement as unacceptable and call for a similar ban from entering Europe and other countries like those that are imposed against Jamaican Entertainers who propagate discrimination, hatred violence against gay and lesbian people.

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Black Gays don't figure, then?

Yes. Blacks are still the 'other' to you. Says more about you than them.

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Leave gays, bis, lesbians, transgender alone or suffer the fate that awaits you.

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I bet he has a tissue between his hand and his penis when he has a pee! lol

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Did they learn nothing. Why do black people hate other people so much??

Gay people are harmless, the people who cause harm are bigots like this man who spreads totally unfounded lies and venemous hatred against other human beings.

This man is a disgrace to the human race. Jamaica is a disgrace, period.

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