OVER 100 religious leaders and pastors of the Christian community have stamped their names to a public statement calling on the government to maintain criminal charges against those who practise buggery.

The statement published as a full-page advertisement in the Sunday newspapers took a shot at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community.
“We the undermentioned leaders of the Christian community in Guyana, representing a wide cross-section of the body of Christ, as well as individuals for promotion and defence of Biblical family values, call upon the Government of Guyana to maintain existing legislative provisions and criminal laws regarding indecency and gross indecency,” the statement said.
The signatories were individuals from churches in Georgetown, New Amsterdam, Linden, Berbice, West Coast Demerara, West Bank Demerara, East Bank Essequibo and other locations.

The statement went on to indicate the reasons for the position held, which included threats to “freedom of speech, of conscience, of religion and parental rights of people of faith,” should the country’s laws be altered.

The group of Christian leaders said “the practice of buggery violates the laws of God and is unnatural, unhealthy, destructive to the human body and to society as a whole” and that preservation of existing laws contributes to the “pathway of order and blessings for Guyana.”

“We believe that buggery and other practices characteristic of the LGBTQ lifestyle are in fact detrimental to the persons engaging in them and the decriminalisation of such acts will have the effect of escalating the practice of these harmful and destructive behaviours and endangering the morals of our youth and society as a whole,” the statement said.
Just last month, a group of religious leaders from the Georgetown Ministers Fellowship (GMF) convened a press conference at the Full Gospel Annex, hours before a scheduled ‘Gay Pride Parade’ to condemn the initiative.

There, the body called on the government to shun this event, along with the legalisation of homosexuality.

On June 2, however, members of the local LGBTQ community came out to the Pride Parade in their numbers gyrating to music through the streets of Georgetown, while others bore placards stating ‘spread love, not hate.’

Although heads of both the LGBTQ and Christian community claim no discrimination or animosity against the other, much tension still remains between the two.
A video which surfaced from the recent pride parade showed revellers among the group intentionally pausing to gyrate in revealing clothing in front of a particular church for those on its premises to witness.

Several members of the LGBTQ community have stated that a number of issues continue to affect the community such as bullying, discrimination and hindrance to access of basic socio-economic services such as health, education, work and housing.
As such, organisations such as the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) continue to call for the amendment of “anti-LGBTQ discriminatory laws” and “ending all forms of homophobia in Guyana.”

In a very visible contrast, the statement of the Christian community to the public concluded on an air of confidence of hope for change.

“As Christians, we continue to be available to help persons to deal with and ultimately exit such lifestyles and also to reach out to the LGBTQ community with the love of Christ and the power of His word.”