WHEN I think of referendums, I think of John Adams’s theory about the ‘tyranny of the majority.’ Adams was aware of how dangerous the act of groupthink could be, particularly if they were tasked to entertain a view or accept something about or from the minority. Adams’s theory came to mind recently when it was revealed that the coalition government would be sending the issue of homosexuality to referendum to see whether it should be struck off the books or remain illegal.

Living in an era of democracy, it is understandable that when one thinks of referendums to make certain constitutional and legislative changes, they believe they are making the right decision. After all, the will of the people should be taken into consideration. However, when it comes to minority rights and issues, referendums are not the an already marginalized people and I find it absolutely asinine that the conservative majority is the one being tasked to make decisions about a minority group.

I have heard the arguments about why the issue of homosexuality should be taken to referendum. “It is a chance to educate the public on the issue and have reasonable debates,” some say, while others hold out on the theory of “hope.” Even as a liberal, I believe these views to be “feel good” liberal propaganda that makes the dangerous assumption that people can be swayed by reason and their “inherent good.” The majority of people, even those who may consider themselves to be rational, are heavily swayed by feelings and do we really want feelings to play a part in who gets rights or not? If we are going down that road, then I think we should do a referendum on how much politicians get paid, because I genuinely believe that if we pay them by the amount of work and progress they do and make, we would be better off as a country.

The clarion call for anti-gay rhetoric has not started as yet, at least not to my knowledge, but just give it time and it will surely find itself at the forefront of this referendum. Lets look at another Caribbean nation that recently concluded their referendum, Grenada. I like to use the example of Grenada’s referendum because it is a perfect example of how the majority of people’s decisions when it comes to homosexuality are based on religious dogma and feelings and not on actual, solid facts. The funny thing about the Grenadian referendum is that the decriminalization of homosexuality was not even a part of it.

There was a specific section in the referendum that spoke of equal rights for men and women. What the religious front did was interpret this as some “clever” way to provide homosexuals with equal rights to the heterosexual population. The majority did not care that even if that was the case (it wasn’t); the fact that homosexuality still remained legal on the law books, even if the referendum was passed, that section would have been null. Women and children were denied their rights by the Grenadian population on the off chance that equal rights would mean it could be applied to homosexuals also. Do we still think that a referendum is the way to go on this issue?

The government explained that it was deemed unfit for the legislature to decide upon this, hence, why it will be taken to referendum. Obviously, many within government have their own biases against homosexuality, but as elected representatives of the people, not just the majority, you have a role to ensure that all your constituents are fully protected and have equal rights bestowed upon them. Basic human rights are not a matter of majority votes, it is an established principle and if we are really serious about achieving equal rights, this is not the way to go. We need to see this as exactly what is it — a sly move by the government to keep a marginalised group marginalized, while being able to say that they attempted to do something about it. It is obvious their commitment to support the LGBT community, particularly gays and transpersons, are not as strong as they would like us to think.

Individual rights should never be subject to public vote and in its attempt to send such a contentious issue to referendum, the coalition government is making it apparent that they are comfortable with minority rights being further stripped away. I am not sure the government understands its role and this is exactly what happens when we have cowardly politicians too scared to make the hard decisions; they play politics with people’s lives. Public opinion on homosexuality is one that is not only misinformed, but also disturbingly unsettling. In this current climate, we are going to have a hard time convincing hetero-conservatives that homosexuals should have equal rights as them.

No one is saying that you do not have a right to your beliefs, but your belief systems should never encroach upon someone else’s right. You do not have the right to try to impose your code of morality on the sexual preferences of others, we do not need a referendum to tell us that, we need the government to stop playing around with this issue and strike the law out of the books.