Letter of the Day | Queer agenda undermines moral and spiritual fabric

THE EDITOR, Madam:

The recent launch of the Equality For All Foundation’s updated queer agenda highlights the group’s insistence on promoting values that contradict Jamaica’s moral and spiritual fabric.

The practice of buggery is illegal in Jamaica, and as a society, Jamaicans do not embrace same-sex relationships.

There is no human right to same -sex marriages, and the practice of homosexuality, like many other things, is a free-will matter, but laws have to restrain some free-will desires for the sake of protection of decency, and morality-informed cultural consensus

We respect the freedom that people have to advocate for what they want. However, the Church will continue to oppose the promotion of LGBTQ practices in Jamaica, and will stand against pressures to adjust laws designed to facilitate the spread of immorality and demands intended to provide cover for normalisation of values- eroding sexuality.

Our laws already shield Jamaicans against breaches of rights related to legally protected actions and behaviours. The Jamaican Constitution protects the human rights of all citizens, and there is no need for additional provisions or arrangements that grant special recognition or legal protection outside of its framework.

The law adequately safeguards the rights of all Jamaicans, and medical attention is freely available through the Ministry of Health for all those who require it.

Whether activism is outside the Church or ill-advised advocacy by individuals in the Church, let it be clear that the wider pastoral leadership alliance does not support any compromise.

Jamaicans should stand firm in the protection of our traditional values and moral underpinnings and to reject any attempts to undermine the country’s moral foundation.

ALVIN BAILEY

President

Jamaica Evangelical Alliance