Homosexuality is Now Decriminalized in Trinidad & Tobago
Photo: AP / Mark Lennihan
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.
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 The lawsuit claimed that Sections 13 and 16 of the Sexual Offenses Act, which criminalize “buggery,” an outdated term for anal sex, and “serious indecency” respectively, infringed on his right to privacy and freedom of expression.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.
