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'I will not accept it that homosexuality must be accepted as a legitimate form of behaviour'
Bruce Golding
Jamaican prime minister: No same-sex unions while I'm in charge
The Jamaican prime minister, Bruce Golding, has said that his country will never accept same-sex marriages or same-sex unions as long as he is in office, AFP reports.
"I make no apology in saying decisively and emphatically that the government of Jamaica remains irrevocably opposed to the recognition, legitimization or acceptance of same-sex marriages or same-sex unions," he said on Tuesday.
Golding was opening the parliamentary debate on a significant proposed amendment to the constitution known as the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, but he made clear that some freedoms were not up for debate.
"There is the possibility that sometime in the future parliament could pass a law that says same-sex unions are legal but it won't be done in this parliament. Not as long as I sit here," he said.
He went on to say that he did not believe it was the business of government to "interfere in what two consenting adults choose to do within their own protected privacy". But he added: "I will not accept it that homosexuality must be accepted as a legitimate form of behaviour or the equivalent of marriage."
In 2007, Golding told the BBC that he would not have gay people in his cabinet, and in 2006, when opposition leader, promised that any cabinet formed by him would be one where homosexuals "would find no solace".
Jamaica, where sex between men can be punished by a 10-year jail sentence or hard labour, is considered by many gay rights organisations to be the "most homophobic place on earth". Golding acknowledged on Tuesday that his stance could prompt the "aggressive" international gay rights lobby to continue to discourage tourism and investment in Jamaica. "But we remain steadfast in our determination that the values and culture must be protected and preserved," he said.
Earlier this year, Human Rights Watch wrote to Golding urging action to counter the endemic violence against LGBT people in Jamaica and asked him to condemn a member of his Jamaica Labour party who called for a tightening of the laws against homosexual conduct.
