A final court of appeals in England has struck down a centuries-old gay sex ban in Trinidad and Tobago in a ruling that activists are celebrating
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A final court of appeals in England struck down a centuries-old gay sex ban in Trinidad and Tobago in a ruling on Tuesday that activists around the world celebrated.
The ruling ended a nearly 10-year battle for gay rights in the twin-island nation and cannot be appealed.
“Those laws cannot be regarded as reasonably justifiable in a society that has a proper respect for the rights and freedom of the individual,” said Judge Philip James Sales of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
“The current understanding of the fundamental individual right to respect for private and family life is that it protects such a core part of human identity, as one’s sexual orientation and the sexual activities carried on in private between consenting adults to give expression to that identity,” he read as part of the unanimous decision. “Laws which seek to criminalize such activities cannot be justified.”
In February 2017, Jason Jones filed the case, arguing that so-called “buggery” laws dating from when Trinidad and Tobago was a British colony are unconstitutional.
