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Laws that banned same-sex relationships in Trinidad and Tobago were removed in 2018. But last week, the country’s top court brought them back making same-sex intimacy illegal again.
Now, the final decision will be made by the privy council in London.
The 2018 decision had ended a British colonial law from 1925 that made consensual anal sex a crime. London-based LGBTQ+ activist Jason Jones had led the case that got the law overturned.
But Trinidad’s government appealed, and now the supreme court has sided with the government. Because of this, the UK Foreign Office changed its travel advice for LGBTQ+ people going to Trinidad.
As of March 2025, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) advises that consensual same-sex activity between men in Trinidad and Tobago is now a criminal offense, punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment. Additionally, while not commonly enforced, it remains illegal for LGBT+ foreign nationals to enter the country.
Jones plans to take the case to the privy council. He says the government is using a rule called the “savings clause” to keep old laws in place. This clause was made to help the country’s transition after independence in 1962, but now it’s being used to hold back human rights.
Jones says the law has changed many times since independence—in 1976, 1986, and 2000—so it shouldn’t be protected by the savings clause anymore. He said, “Parliament is hiding its homophobic bigotry behind an old clause.”
Back in 2018, there was joy and celebration when a judge ruled in favor of LGBTQ+ rights. Judge Devindra Rampersad said the law must respect each person’s dignity and right to love whom they choose.
But now, Judge Nolan Bereaux has reversed that ruling. He said judges can’t change laws and that buggery is still a crime. He also said the law is not enforced, so no one has been punished. LGBTQ+ activists say that doesn’t matter. Just having the law means their rights are not protected.
Kennedy Maraj from Pride TT said the ruling was a betrayal. He said it shows how easy it is to lose hard-won rights.
Patrick Lee Loy, one of the few openly gay men in Trinidad, said he was shocked and angry. He explained that LGBTQ+ people live in fear and hide who they are.
Even though Trinidad is known for its lively Carnival, many parts of society are still very religious. These conservative beliefs affect how people view LGBTQ+ rights.
Sources say that evangelical and Pentecostal churches are often the most outspoken in opposing homosexuality, seeing it as a sin based on literal interpretations of the Bible and have been active in influencing public and political opinion on matters like same-sex unions and decriminalisation laws.
A verse in the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament says that people caught having same sex relations should be put to death, but most modern Christians take these ancient texts with a pinch of salt as they pertain to a very different era in human history.
Some areas outside the capital city of Port of Spain are not safe for gay people. Loy said he knows gay men who were killed, and the police never solved the cases. Some families didn’t even ask for justice.
He added that many LGBTQ+ people are afraid to go out in public. They worry about losing their jobs, their families, and their safety. Now, with the law back in place, they feel even more at risk.
The 2018 case in Trinidad had sparked hope around the world. In places like India, similar laws were removed soon after. It seemed like a new, more open time had begun.
But the Trinidad government appealed the ruling to appease religious voters. The appeal took seven years to reach the supreme court. Now that the court has ruled against LGBTQ+ rights, Jason Jones says if the privy council also sides with the government, then it’s time to leave that institution.
He says he believes that the Privy Council is effectively useless if it is forced to follow obsolete old laws.
Sodomy laws have already been overturned in Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, and Barbados – with cases still pending in Grenada and St Lucia.
Source: The Guardian.
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