RESOURCE 1- Article

LGBT activist Jason Jones

A Trinidad-born gay rights activist is suing the State over this country’s homophobic laws.

The novel constitutional lawsuit, the first of its kind to be raised in T&T, was filed in the Port-of-
Spain High Court yesterday morning by lawyers representing Jason Jones.

In the lawsuit, Jones is challenging Sections 13 and 16 of the Sexual Offences Act, which
criminalises buggery and serious indecency even between consenting adults.

“The very existence of these sections continuously and directly affects the claimant’s private life
by forcing him to either respect the law and refrain from engaging - even in private with
consenting male partners - in prohibited sexual acts to which he is disposed by reason of his
homosexual orientation, or to commit the prohibited acts and thereby become liable to criminal
prosecution,” Jones’ fixed date claim form, which was obtained by the T&T Guardian stated.

Jones is also claiming that the long-standing legislation contravenes his constitutional rights to
privacy and freedom of thought and expression in addition to being in direct contradiction to this
country’s international human rights obligation.

His lawyers are also contending that the legislation opens his client to public prejudice and
ridicule as it labels him and other homosexuals as criminals.

“He is accordingly the subject of extensive societal prejudice, persecution, marginalisation, a

lifelong entrenched stigma that he is an unapprehended criminal by virtue of being homosexual
and he experiences the lifelong fear of being punished for expressing his sexuality through
consensual conduct with another adult,” the lawsuit adds.

Jones’ lawyers are seeking to side step the “saving clause” feature of the Constitution which
precludes a court from striking down and reviewing legislation which were in existence when the
Constitution was drafted and that have been marginally changed since.
He is being represented by Richard Drabble, QC, Rishi Dass and Antonio Emmanuel.

They claim that the controversial legislation amended in 1986 and 2000 repealed and replaced
pre-Independence sexual offences legislation, covered by the savings clause, and thus is open to
review. A date for the hearing of the constitutional motion lawsuit is yet to be set.

In an interview outside the Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spain yesterday morning, Jones explained
that he took the decision to file the lawsuit due to his personal experience as a homosexual in
T&T which including him being disowned by his family forcing him to migrate to the United
Kingdom.

“I don’t wish to shove a gay agenda down you (the public) throat or attack your morals, religion
or spirituality, I am doing this for the betterment of our nation, and for our feature generations,”
Jones said.

Jones’ lawsuit is one of several landmark cases filed by Caribbean LGBT activists challenging
regional homophobic laws.

Last year, Jamaican Maurice Tomlinson challenged T&T and Belize’s immigration laws which
allow for refusal of entry to regional homosexuals visitors. While the Caribbean Court of Justice
(CCJ) dismissed his case, both Governments admitted that the laws were not enforced.

In August, last year, Belize’s Supreme Court struck down that country’s sodomy laws, after a
case similar to Jones’ was filed by a local activist.

AUTHOR: DEREK ACHONG

SOURCE: http://www4.guardian.co.tt/news/2017-02-24/gay-activist-challenges-tt
%E2%80%99s-homophobic-laws

PUBLISHER: GUARDIAN
RESOURCE 2- Poem
Do you know what it is to be an outsider
on the other side of the fence?
How alone you would feel, if excluded you were.
Does it make any sense?

Can you imagine the isolated soul

with no-one in sight to hear
the cries and the tears that your heart would shed,
and the constant, looming fear?
Can you see in your mind the life of a man
without anywhere to belong?
Because a society judged him unworthy,
because they think they’re right, and he’s wrong.

Try and imagine the pain that you’d feel,

with sneers and hateful words, and spit at your heels.
What would it be like if the gates were locked;
you couldn’t get in, and you couldn’t get out?
Imagine the feeling that you’re worthless,
some dirt that’s been stepped on by someone’s uncaring shoe.
Perhaps at that point it’s too much for your heart,
and you take your own life, to stop it hurting you.

Imagine this world, for maybe a minute,

after that you can stop; you don’t like it, sure
but there are people who go through this every day,
and they can’t stop it, unless they’re no more.
So when you hear of hate, bigots and death,
don’t side with haters, cause that’s how you’ve been bred.4

Imagine how it is, or was for that guy,

the one that’s hurt, or lying dead.
So imagine the feelings and memories too,
of people oppressed, hated, abused;
Of people who lived outside of that fence
and what they came to – does it make sense?
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2351969
RESOURCE 3- Poster

poster on lgbtq - Search Images (bing.com)

PLAN OF INVESTIGATION

The theme of my English SBA is Discrimination. My sub-topic is Discrimination

against Sexual Orientation. I became interested in this topic after I witnessed how
inhumane the homosexual community was treated. I hope to bring about a positive
chane in the community. As an English student, I expect to develop my ability to
explore the use of literary devices to highlight theme. I will use this skill to analyze
my three-resource material. To explore this issue I will check the library and
internet for motivational songs, posters and articles that highlight my topic. I
expect that the skills acquired will assist me in my studies.