Shirley Richards | Gay-mad Britain has lost its soul

I write in response to Maurice Tomlinson's suggestion, in relation to anti-sodomy laws that the British government should apologise "for leaving them when they departed." It seems to me that Britain should be commended for its past wisdom in having enacted these laws and in having left them intact.

These laws are needed now more than ever as the illogical behaviour of homosexuality gains political support, sadly resulting in more victims of these unwholesome lifestyles.

In Britain, one has to be careful of making statements critical of same-sex behaviour. The cases of Felix Ngole and Adrian Smith are instructive. Felix Ngole was expelled from a two-year MA (in social work) degree course at Sheffield University in 2015 after he expressed the view on his Facebook page that "the Bible and God identify homosexuality as a sin".

Adrian Smith was demoted from his job at Trafford Housing Trust in 2011 because of his comment, also on his Facebook page, that, in regards to same-sex marriage being hosted by churches, this was "an equality too far". Neil Addison, an expert in religious discrimination law and a practising barrister in England, commented on this case, saying: "When I was a child, people in England used to say, 'I can say what I like, it's a free country.' That is certainly no longer the case in Britain today." These cases are by no means exhaustive of the incidents of injustice occurring in Britain in the name of sexual rights.

Children not safe

Not even young children are safe from the new social constructs in Britain! There was a time, subsequent to the repeal of their buggery law when it was illegal for public schools to teach acceptability of homosexuality, but owing to the pressure from LGBT groups, this was reversed in 2003.

Now homosexuality and transgenderism have been normalised within the school system starting as early as kindergarten.

It seems that the export of same-sex marriage has also become one of Britain's main priorities. In 2015, after the passage of legislation allowing for same-sex marriage, then Prime Minister David Cameron said he would like to see gay marriage 'exported' around the world.

One must remember that the aim of the LGBT lobby is more than removing laws that criminalise sodomy. In the words of Paula Ettelbrick, the late US legal advocate for the lesbian gay and civil rights movement, "Being queer is more than setting up house, sleeping with a person of the same gender and seeking state approval for doing so ... . Being queer means pushing the parameters of sex, sexuality and family, and, in the process, transforming the very fabric of society ... . We must keep our eyes on the goals of providing true alternatives to marriage and radically reordering society's view of reality."

Apology due

Britain, indeed, needs to apologise. It needs to apologise for pressuring governments like Jamaica's and those of other Commonwealth nations to repeal laws that protect human dignity. It needs to apologise to us for pushing behaviours that are socially dysfunctional, demonstrably unhealthy and which jeopardise the future of Commonwealth societies.

Britain, having lost its faith, has lost its concept of normality. Instead of recognising the grave error it made in repealing its buggery law in 1967, the former coloniser plunges itself deeper and deeper into sexual anarchy.

The emperor needs to acknowledge that his new clothes are non-existent. In fact, by discarding his clothing, he is really naked and exposed, susceptible to all different types of philosophies. Commonwealth developing countries, including Jamaica, would be well advised to stand their ground by keeping their buggery/sodomy laws and other laws that protect marriage and the family and to watch carefully the outcome of this social experiment in Britain and in other Western nations.

- Shirley Richards is an attorney-at-law and advocate against pro-gay legislation. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and sprichards82@yahoo.com.