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Homosexuality is Now Decriminalized in Trinidad & Tobago
The colonial-era law banning gay sex was ruled "unconstitutional, illegal, and invalid."
On Thursday, Justice Devindra Rampersad, a high court judge in Trinidad and Tobago, ruled that a colonial-era law criminalizing gay sex is unconstitutional.
"The court declares that sections 13 and 16 of the [Sexual Offenses Act] are unconstitutional, illegal, null, void, invalid and of no effect to the extent that these laws criminalise any acts constituting consensual sexual conduct between adults," Justice Rampersad wrote.
Related | The Sodomy Roundtable: How Dispelling Discriminatory Sex Laws Led to Marriage Equality
The ruling came after LGBTQ+ activist and Trinidad and Tobago citizen Jason Jones filed a lawsuit against the country's attorney general. The lawsuit claimed that Sections 13 and 16 of the Sexual Offenses Act, which criminalize "buggery," an outdated term for anal sex, and "serious indecency" respectively, infringed on his right to privacy and freedom of expression.
Jones expressed his excitement over the ruling on Twitter.
\u201cVICTORY! Thank you so much for everyone\u2019s messages of support! WE DID IT! We found an EQUAL PLACE!!!! \ud83c\uddf9\ud83c\uddf9\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\u2764\ufe0f\ud83c\udf08\ud83d\udc97\ud83d\udc95\u201d— Jason Jones (@Jason Jones) 1523554083
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