In support of the anonymous gay man taking on our antiquated Sexual Offenses Act

In a David-vs-Goliath act, a lone Gay Man is taking on the buggery laws of Dominica and by extension the English-Speaking Caribbean.

 

Dear Editor,

 

This Anonymous Gay Man deserves my respect and has my full support.  What will it take for him to have your respect, your support?  He is not asking that you approve of his sexuality, only that you do not condemn him a criminal because of it.  I understand that the majority of Dominicans believe that homosexuality is unnatural and against God’s teachings, but does that justify its classification as a criminal offense?  We need to examine the moral vs. legal argument, come to terms with the evolving religious consensus, learn the tragic lessons from the Alan Turing story and decide for ourselves on which side of history we wish to fall: the side of hatefulness and intolerance or the side of love and understanding.

 

Moral Vs. Legal Argument

Has anyone noticed that Buggery did not make it into the ten commandments, but Adultery did?  Yet Adultery is not illegal but Buggery is?  Both are practiced by consenting adults.  One is a choice that destroys families and is very common.  The other is an expression of one’s sexuality, not a choice, and has no damaging consequences to society, yet is punishable by 12 years in Prison.  The bible specifically forbids fornication but the state does not classify it a criminal offense.  What about the Commandment “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me”?  Should we criminalize Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, and sentence persons of these faiths to prison because their personal beliefs differ from ours?  Why is it then that we are so willing to support laws enacted more than 146 years ago and throw a man or woman in prison because of their sexuality?  No one is asking us to change our moral position on homosexuality – that may take generations – simply to agree that our laws are largely to protect us from each other (murder, theft, rape, abuse) and not to dictate what two consenting adults can or cannot do in the privacy of their bedrooms.  Our Anonymous Gay Man is not asking you to approve of his sexuality, only not to criminalize it.  Is that too much to ask?

 

Evolving Religious Consensus

Pope Francis recently said in his paper “On Love in the Family”, “A pastor cannot feel that it is enough simply to apply moral laws … as if they were stones to throw at people’s lives.” He urges more common sense, stating “By thinking that everything is black and white, we sometimes close off the way of grace and growth.”  He emphasizes that “unjust discrimination” against gays and lesbians is unacceptable.  In a bold and admirable move, Bishop Gabriel Malzaire, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Dominica, called for the elimination of criminal penalties for homosexuality and an end to “all forms of violence” against LGBT people, stating “I wish to make it clear that the Catholic Church in Dominica adheres to the call of the Holy See in its statement to the 63rd session of the General Assembly of the United Nations on the Declaration of Human Rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, “to condemn all forms of violence against homosexual persons as well as to urge all States to take necessary measures to put an end to all criminal penalties against them. …” The Catholic Church maintains that free sexual acts between adult persons must not be treated as crimes to be punished by civil authorities.”  Neither Pope Francis nor Bishop Malzaire are asking that we change our beliefs, only that we do not use those beliefs to perpetuate violence against persons based on their sexual orientation.  Is it too much to ask that we put an end to the violence that our Anonymous Gay Man has suffered time and time again?

 

The Alan Turing Story

Alan Turin, the father of computer science and artificial intelligence, and the man who unravelled the Enigma code used by Nazi Germany that helped bring World War II to an end sooner, possibly saving thousands maybe millions of lives, was stripped of his job and chemically castrated after being convicted of gross indecency in 1952 for having sex with a man. Homosexual sex was illegal in Britain until 1967.  Turing killed himself in 1954, aged 41, with cyanide. He was granted a royal pardon by Queen Elizabeth II in 2013 for the criminal conviction that led to his suicide.  And just last week it was announced that his face will grace the UK’s £50 note, and will join former prime minister Winston Churchill, writer Jane Austen, and artist JMW Turner who are the faces of the new £5, £10, and £20 notes.  The life of a genius was brought to a violent end by a society that chose hatefulness and intolerance over love and understanding.  Our Anonymous Gay Man remains anonymous for fear that his life is brought to a violent end, or that he is confined to years in prison.  Have we no love and understanding?  Where is our humanity?  What wrong has this man done us?  What really is the crime?

 

Which Side of History

In his statement, our Anonymous Gay Man says that these laws “not only incite and encourage hateful and violent conduct towards LGBT individuals” but also “condone police discrimination and inaction against such acts of harassment and violence”.  Whether Civil Rights or Gay Rights, don’t All Lives Matter?  Nelson Mandela said: “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”  As history unfolds, let us continue to choose the side that respects and liberates, that removes chains, that ends discrimination.  Our Anonymous Gay Man may not represent your moral ideals, but he is not a criminal, and his courage and quest deserve your respect and support.

 

Gregor Nassief

 

P.S. Congrats to Daryl Phillip & MiRiDom for their relentless commitment to the cause.

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43 Comments

  1. Rick
    August 4, 2019

    Wow, impressive and sad how many people in your country are still stuck in the deepest Middle Ages… Here in Germany I have never seen any gays having sex in public, rise of crimes or whatever else is fantasized in the comments above. All I see is people loving each other, officially married male-male and female-female couples, being together for 20+ years, raising children, being a happy family. At the same time I see male-female couples cheating on each other, splitting up, changing partners all the time.
    So who are you to outlaw people just loving each other?

  2. christine luke
    July 30, 2019

    excellent letter of explanation and it is timely and right for the support of the LGBT community

  3. jamie
    July 30, 2019

    Those of you who have not sin,cast the first stone,many of you are very ignorant.Dominica is filled with gay men and they are prominent,but hide in the dark,start by asking them to come out the closet,judge no man.

  4. The Darkness
    July 30, 2019

    I will not tolerate nor accept the LGBT communities moral values or goals. Stay in your corner and we to our own.

    Stop FORCING your nasty ways to the eyes of the bystanders and on people who don’t want to see such filth. Children see it too!

    When your son or daughter follows these foolish misconstructs, understand that your line has ended and your family growth is NO MORE.

    This is a practice of death, where life could never be promoted and results in further dysfunction in society.

    A finger cannot partake in supplimenting birth… Life don’t come from sh!t.

    Focus on legallizing / de-criminalizing something more worthy of our time.

    Stop following America’s lead and take up our own.

    If it’s wrong, it’s wrong. Follow not the sugar coatings… It brings about too much decay…

    Before FORCING your “ways” onto people like how you all did the media industry… Ask yourselvea this question:

    Why are you gay?

  5. Ti Garcon
    July 30, 2019

    I think a topic like this would have over 100 comments by know. Yet, there are so few and mostly in support of this notion. DNO you think censoring comments is a mature thing to do on this topic? Don’t think this is rather hypocritical for a free press site to do? Shutting out opposing views, what exactly do you think this will accomplish?
    When the religious community didnt want certain JA artist in Dca they got them banned from entry and that didn’t even have the full country support. Think on that.

    ADMIN: You are correct, tolerance for opposing views is a function of maturity.

    We have only filtered out comments as per our comment policy which we do for every story, nothing has changed, at least not on our part.

    Even if those excluded comments were included the total number of comments on this article would still not be close to 100.

  6. July 30, 2019

    So what in reality are the gay people asking for, is it they that should have the right to lie on the beach, in the park, or at any corner of the street to be in their acts and the public or the Law of the Land should have nothing to say or do about this?

    In Toronto, if a man is caught by the police urinating on the public side of the street, or in any public place, that man would be arrested and spend the night in jail. I know that this law is in other countries of the World.

    Piere Trudeau, who was the Prime minster of Canada in the ’70s, once said at Parliament that it was none of his business what Canadians do in their bedrooms–pertaining to the discussion of gays and lesbians.

    And I would like to think that this is the same with the Law in Dominica; but if it is that those people are calling for rights to put their sinful ways on display among our children and our young people, this cannot be; it just cannot be!

    • foreign observer
      July 30, 2019

      No, the reality of the current law of Dominica is that certain sexual activity between consenting adults is illegal, both under Section 14 and Section 16 of the current Sexual Offenses Act. Period. These two sections have been published in the original report carried by DNO. The current laws do, indeed, give the police the right to burst into your bedroom and arrest you for violation of either Section 14 (“Gross Indecency”) or Section 16 (“Buggery”). And certainly Section 14 pertains to consensual heterosexual activity as much as consensual same-sex activity.

      Pierre Trudeau was absolutely right, when he made his most famous comment in 1967. Here is the CBC recording of that moment – and do take note that he did differentiate between what goes on in the bedroom, versus what goes on in public: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1811727781

      Elizabeth, what the LGBT community in Dominica is asking for is privacy in the bedroom.

      • July 31, 2019

        @foreign observer, okay I got what you are saying, and if that is what it is, I would have to agree with Gregor Nassief.

        As far as I am concerned, we are all breaking the Laws of God, in all sorts of ways, that is why He appoints a Government to control and regulate the practice of the unlawful, known as civil disobedience.

        What I am wondering is how do those in authority know when two people are in their bedroom in an intimate connection–whether it is man and woman, man and man, or woman and woman–this is quite hard for me to understand.

        Because the bedroom is a very private place, no one has the right to barge in into my bedroom invading my privacy–that cannot be a part of no law.

        But once again, I am saying that if the gays and lesbians want the right to put on display, whatever their conduct, pertaining to intimacy, in all sorts of public places, I would not support that, and I would stand with the authority not to allow it.

        • foreign observer
          July 31, 2019

          Elizabeth: the following is part of the original story from July 20 (“Challenge to Dominica’s Buggery Laws…”):
          “Section 14 is a sweeping law criminalizing gross indecency which is defined as any act (other than penile-vaginal sex) by anyone “involving the use of the genital organs, breast or anus for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire.” The maximum penalty is 12 years in prison (if the act is committed with a person aged 16 or older), while section 16 of the Act criminalizes buggery, which the Act defines as anal sex between two men or between a man and a woman. The maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment plus the possibility of forced psychiatric confinement.”

          Indeed, the bedroom should be a private place for everybody. You ask how would authorities know. Well I guess that depends on whether or not the authorities are respecting peoples’ privacy outright or if there are other motivations driving the intrusion.

    • What indeed
      July 31, 2019

      That’s the million dollar question. BUt as we have seen through the eyes of other countires who have change laws in favor of homosexuals have found themselves in hot water very quickly like in dealing with increase child molestation, pubic school indoctrinations, gender law chages, Bathroom crimes riseing etc etc and such like. Gay men in Domincia have always done what they wanted to without people or police chasing them in secrete, now I believe that they only want to do it openly and in the faces of those who do not condon such behavior.

  7. viewsexpressed
    July 30, 2019

    Has anyone noticed that Buggery did not make it into the ten commandments, but Adultery did? That, buggery, and Bestiality should not be taking place. For our readers re Bestiality, it is and act of sex with animals, mainly on cows mainly done by men who engages in these nastiness. Human Sexual relations is a matter naturally designed for man/woman. That is nature, only produces something exceptional. That sperm to Egg and man to woman. That is what it is, no one cannot play about with nature as this cannot be done in no other way and it produces nothing (BS). We must not go after these people violently but we have that right to condemn that act. What you all do in the comfort (if at all it is ) of your room, but please do not try to indoctrinate us on this matter. We believe in GOD, nature, that without Man to woman and woman to man, we would not be here today and we must welcome this.
    Nature has beautifully created Adam & Eve and Not Adam and Steve or Eve and Adama. Nature Amen!

  8. Braindamage
    July 29, 2019

    When Gregor and co want to spread their nastiness that’s how they will find all sorts of excuses.
    How many buggerers sent to prison in Dominica already?
    So if you all want to bugger, do you all business in your bedroom.
    We can’t stop men going after other men’s wives,
    We can’t stop unmarried couples of having sex before marriage..
    We can’t stop buggery either.
    But keep your dotty business in the closet.

    Imagine my daughter comes home and telling me ” Daddy, daddy look I saw two men down the road kissing and touching one another” :(

  9. Didymus
    July 29, 2019

    Read Genesis 19 verses 1 to 11 and you can read the entire chapter. this is to show that God is not happy with LGBT behaviour lifestyle.He destroyed Sodom and he will destroy this world again for the same reasons and more.

  10. Gouvelma
    July 29, 2019

    Anything against the principles and tea hinge of god should and is criminal. I would personally bound the hands and feet of all gay people, men and women, put them in a canoe and set them out to sea. Homosexuality is unnatural, dirty and nasty. We do not have offfshore islands where we can banish them so let us send them out to sea bound by hand and feet. And for those lawyers fighting their cases i call on all dominicans to withhokd your hard earned dollar from them. Do not solicit their services.

  11. Well written
    July 29, 2019

    Well Well Mr. Nassief. You certainly have outdone yourself👏 👏 👏👏
    Your guests will be proud. Too bad, it will not work. You see, we have a lot of men in Dominca, from leadership go down, who will cheat on their wife everyday, but they will never, ever give your guests license to dive.

  12. tim tim
    July 29, 2019

    Moral Argument you say?
    As if there are not enough in the bible to condem this type of behavior? So many sins exist which were not part of the Ten commandments. That does not make them ok.
    Here are a few scriptures.
    Lev 18:22  Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

    Lev 20:12-13  And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.  (13)  If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

  13. Anonymous57
    July 29, 2019

    The man isn’t asking u to change you’re opinion or morals, simply to not condemn a man for your
    religious beliefs; the law is made to protect us from others, not to satisfy beliefs

    • What indeed
      July 31, 2019

      Except in these people case. Have you not been prevailed to see what has happened in other countries in recent times? Any other group would be content with just a law change and liberty but not these group of people. They have hidden agendas. Boyfriend and girlfriend, husband and wife, hide to do their business, these people debase as they are want to do things openly and in your face so that all could see. Shame!

  14. KaliNeg
    July 29, 2019

    :?: It’s easy to see through those who love money even more than humanity, based on their leaning! Those involved in buggary are the top high income earners who likes travelling and have the money to spend. Therefore it’s no surprise that greedy gregor will look to full his hotels with abominable money!!!

    • The Darkness
      July 30, 2019

      And poo poo bedsheets… :-?

      Jokes aside… This statement of yours sounds a bit on point… Let the poor, who have no where or way to escape it, dwell in the chaos… The rich will simply play Monopoly in the background, far away from the actual problems.

      What happens when a full grown man is seen in “drag” by children?

      I will tell you what… Not the rich man’s problem…

  15. Anonymous57
    July 29, 2019

    I don’t understand what’s wrong with some people. Does someone having sex in a certain way affect u… 💀💀💀dummy’s

    • viewsexpressed
      July 30, 2019

      It is their issue, not ours, they just want people to accept them. We have that right to condone and or reject this behaviour and not attack or abuse these people. We all have our points of view which must be respected as long as people do not go at them. That is their life, that is mine, our life and they to must respect where we are. That life must not be indoctrinated upon us who see a difference point of view. There is no way two men want to get together Husband, my husband and then goes off have a child with a woman and then you as a man go home and called this man of yours “My Husband” . I just cannot, will not comprehend this. So, the other man n the room who cannot produce a child s called what? You people see why people are confused and don’t want to get involved in promoting this thig?

    • Kalinago Justice
      July 31, 2019

      If buggary was sex,then we wouldn’t be having such argument! Sex is between male and female, therefore those of us who engage in the spiritual, natural,moral and legitimate way of having sex have no demands.

  16. dissident
    July 29, 2019

    their is a dam good healthy reason why anal sex between man and woman is frowned upon by the court as well!
    Money doesn’t come out de back door and you can wear gloves while handling money to keep away germs!
    what is de economic benefit?
    a bunch of zeros to prove de millions?
    when people will want to legalize similar with animals and their very own children…..who benefits economically.

    de case could stand by itself….. crafty bold face economic support…..all dem cases. i could never imagine strong public figures making a similar case for concern for voter registration card and cleaning de voters list
    some people pay top dollar to engage in their indecencies behind closed doors…….wait till we see de j’ouvert band
    men in tights!!!!!

  17. TJ
    July 29, 2019

    Excellent report. Congratulations and you deserves, respect from all Dominicans. Inspite of a few DA people the majority would like the buggery laws be done away with.

    • Whatindeed
      July 31, 2019

      I do not think you know what Dominicans want. Think again.

  18. Dr Clayton Shillingford
    July 29, 2019

    I support the position that Gregor Nassief has stated about the issue of treatment of LGBT persons.

  19. Indeginous Investor
    July 29, 2019

    “As history unfolds, let us continue to choose the side that respects and liberates, that removes chains, that ends discrimination” Quite apt will you apply the same sentiments to the very selective process applied to the CBI programme for which only a “selective few” can benefit. You need to be transparent!

  20. Glass House
    July 29, 2019

    Dominicans are hypocrites. Gays and gay lifestyle is nothing new to Dominica. I can name gay people from Lagon, or other villages in Dominica for that matter, going back over fifty years and longer. We know who they are, the one that use to sell souse in Lagon and the one that used to fix bicycles in Great Marlborough street, to the ones that used to dance in the dance troupes. My point is that we are quick to condemn homosexuality but are silent on the numerous murders taking place in Dominica. Adultery and murder are no less sins than homosexuality, God condemn both, and a condemnation to any nation. I consider myself a Christian and don’t condone a gay lifestyle, but I think it is one thing to hate the sin but God calls us to love the sinner, not to make them criminals. When Dominicans stop drinking all that rum and making all those children out of wedlock, then and only then they can get on their high horse and condemn gay people.

  21. Roger Burnett
    July 29, 2019

    As I said under a previous news item on this topic:

    As a painter and sculptor I can only get passionate about the female. However, I respect the fact that Michelangelo was different. He could only get passionate about the male and his female nudes were taken from the male model with bits added or subtracted.

    Nevertheless, his sexual preference was fortunately secondary to the needs of the Catholic Church. If it had been otherwise, the Sistine Chapel ceiling would not exist.

  22. Ti Garcon
    July 29, 2019

    Personally i dont care about what two men do in their own time.
    However, the way women dancing 3/4 naked during carnival saying they expressing themselves- you think them gays wont do the same? They even have less shame!!!
    I’m sure most Dominicans could care less about 2 queers in private, the issue is gay pride parades and gay specific tourism. We aint about that life.

  23. Zandoli
    July 29, 2019

    Very articulate. I could not have said it any better.

  24. viewsexpressed
    July 29, 2019

    What about Commandments “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me”? Should we criminalize Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, and sentence persons of these faiths to prison.? Answer is no. Why is it then that we are so willing to support laws enacted more than 146 years ago and throw a man or woman in prison because of their sexuality? because it is nastiness.
    I believe that you have killed this debate toy say this. We dont get your point. “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me”? Also, we have that right to defer and nature (God) does not condone this satanic act of Man on man, woman on woman. As humane beings we just can`t comprehend this act. Pretty soon it will be the young who will be targeted. In the 20th century world, it appears that anything goes. including bestiality. Man on man unable to produce anything and the anal is not designed for penetration, it is for passing faeces (popo) Yak. I will not condone any act of violence etc on these people, but will not accept this style.

  25. Made in China
    July 29, 2019

    “One is a choice that destroys families and is very common. The other is an expression of one’s sexuality, not a choice, and has no damaging consequences to society”

    They are BOTH choices. To say otherwise is completely false. Next we will be saying that a man who is a pedophile having sex with an underage child is “just an expression of his sexuality”. You can have desires but you still have a choice whether to act on those desires or not.

    And homosexuality does have damaging consequences on society. Once it is accepted, it opens the door to further forms of perversion (transgenderism, pedophilia etc) leading to a further breakdown of society. And we don’t even have to speculate about that. We have the perfect example in the USA. Look at the current state of the country since the former president made it his life’s work to promote the acceptance of degeneracy.

    We should be looking to find the root cause of this problem and SOLVE it. Not encourage the perversion.

  26. My take
    July 29, 2019

    Gregor’s only interest is
    making money.Gays are among the richest people in the world.Gregor wants them to fill up Secret Bay and Fort Young.Go ahead Gregor, have your way.Money will tufay you.

  27. Concerned Dominican
    July 29, 2019

    Stop deleting people’s comments who are in opposition to your posts on your websites. YOu are sensoring and being bias. THis is not proper for a news outlet site. Be fair and balance.

    ADMIN: Which comments? Please be specific. It is ethical and fully within our rights to withhold comments that violate our comment policy or the laws of Dominica. You can view our full comment policy here or

    If you would like to know why a comment was not published provide the comment and the name it was published under. You can engage us here or via email at [email protected].

  28. Ray Charlse
    July 29, 2019

    Leviticus 18:22  Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
    Moral law? So many sins in the bible thats not in the Ten commandment.
    Romans 1:26-27
    “ For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet

    • Compere Tigre
      July 29, 2019

      You NEED some theological education. Or find an Old Testament Scholar to talk to.

      • 72nationsallbowtoHIM
        July 30, 2019

        He is just quoting the bible within the context of the argument. someone once said that “christians” always want to literally refer to the bible whenever it is convenient. when they get stuck and cant use the bible, they always resort to saying, “the bible shouldn’t be taken literally.” so which is it this time? We need a scholar to explain what is plain and simple?

      • seriously dude
        July 31, 2019

        I believe that you are the one in need of a theological education. He has given you some scriptural references that are straight forwards and you still can’t understand. It’s not that you don’t understand but rather you do not want to agree that he is wrong. Wake up and live right, Change your ways and your thoughts because when we die we shall both meet God.

  29. Dilian Bellot
    July 29, 2019

    I am not fooled by all you human reasoning with hidden agendas. Trying to gain sympathy through all ways possible. Soon the straight moral persons, children and especially God fearing persons will be the one to feel all you wrath. It starts with such human reasonings but ends with much distress and one sidedness. NO NO NO to your nasty and wicked ways.

  30. Michael Norris
    July 29, 2019

    I concur with your arguments, Mr. Nassief. Note the law not only punishes homosexual men but also married heterosexual couples who engage in the act of buggery (anal sex).

  31. Casio
    July 29, 2019

    Adultery means that you are willfully destroying a union sanctified by God. what God put together, let no man tear apart. Not when the husband or the wife does this after they have said VOWS to GOD, in front of his fellow man and family, this is taken more seriously by God. Because the vow was made to him. Now Buggery is just a plain perversion, which God wants nothing to do with. when you break the former, he takes it more seriously, that is why it in the commandments. whereas the latter his stance was made clear from early, that is why it isnt in the 10 commandments. It is a perverted abomination with mental and physical repercussions.

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