The Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago is set to decriminalize homosexuality following a judge's ruling on Thursday that the laws are unconstitutional.
Activist Jason Jones sings the national anthem before hwading to the High Court to hear the ruling on his matter challenging #buggery laws in Trinidad and Tobago pic.twitter.com/apCCLvt0pt
— LoopNewsTT (@LoopNewsTT) April 12, 2018
“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 Devindra Rampersad wrote in his ruling.
Section 13 of the country's Sexual Offenses Act states that a person who engages in “buggery” — another term for anal sex — could face up to 25 years in prison. Section 16 states that an individual who “commits an act of serious indecency” — defined as an act “other than sexual intercourse” involving the “use of the genital organ for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire” —could face 5 years in prison.
A final ruling on exactly what will happen to Sections 13 and 16 will be made in July.
