{"id":5341,"date":"2026-07-08T07:34:45","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T07:34:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5341"},"modified":"2026-07-08T07:34:45","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T07:34:45","slug":"english-court-to-rule-on-final-challenge-to-trinidads-gay-sex-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5341","title":{"rendered":"English court to rule on final challenge to Trinidad\u2019s gay sex ban"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) \u2014 A nearly 10-year battle for gay rights in Trinidad and Tobago could end Wednesday at a final appeals court in England.<\/p>\n

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Supreme Court judges in London will hold a hearing on a landmark human rights case that could decriminalize gay sex in the eastern Caribbean nation, potentially setting a precedent for the largely conservative Caribbean region.<\/p>\n

The case was filed in February 2017 by Jason Jones, who argues that so-called \u201cbuggery\u201d laws in the twin-island nation that date from the colonial era and prohibit gay sex are unconstitutional. Those found guilty could receive up to five years in prison.<\/p>\n

Opposing Jones are Trinidad and Tobago\u2019s government, backed by the country\u2019s Council of Evangelical Churches and its largest Hindu organization, Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha.<\/p>\n

The case has wound its way through several courts. In April 2018, Trinidad\u2019s High Court found the laws unconstitutional, but a local appeals court partially reversed that ruling in March 2025. In July of that year, Trinidad\u2019s Court of Appeals allowed Jones to seek a ruling from the final court of appeals in England.<\/p>\n

Now, the case is before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and activists across the Caribbean are closely watching the outcome.<\/p>\n

In 1991, the Bahamas decriminalized homosexuality, while the U.K government repealed such laws in 2001 in Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands.<\/p>\n

Recently, judges have struck down similar laws in Barbados, Dominica, St. Lucia and Antigua and Barbuda. Gay sex, however, remains a crime in Grenada, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.<\/p>\n

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Jones, who is currently 61 and has been openly gay since age 16, left Trinidad and Tobago in 1996 because of what he described as homophobic violence and discrimination.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis experience is part of a wider picture,\u201d LGBTQ groups supporting Jones said in a recent court filing. \u201c(He) is unable to fully express his sexuality without being branded a criminal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones argues that criminalizing gay sex is a moral stance, asserting that \u201cTrinidad and Tobago is a secular society and a multi-racial one. Christian morality is neither universal nor superior.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the country\u2019s so-called buggery laws have not been enforced in recent history, attorneys and activists say they still send a message.<\/p>\n

\u201cA law of this kind operates not only through arrest and conviction, but through the stigma, fear, concealment and exclusion,\u201d according to a recently filed written argument in favor of Jones.<\/p>\n

It asserted that criminalizing gay sex \u201ccompounds stigma at precisely the stage at which young people may be forming identity, seeking support, accessing education and healthcare, and deciding whether it is safe to disclose abuse, bullying or self-harm risks.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is composed of five judges. They could issue a ruling as soon as Wednesday\u2019s hearing ends, although they don\u2019t have a deadline to do so.<\/p>\n

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) \u2014 A nearly 10-year battle for gay rights in Trinidad…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nEnglish court to rule on final challenge to Trinidad\u2019s gay sex ban - Raleigh Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5341\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"English court to rule on final challenge to Trinidad\u2019s gay sex ban - Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) \u2014 A nearly 10-year battle for gay rights in Trinidad...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5341\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-08T07:34:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5341#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5341\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\"},\"headline\":\"English court to rule on final challenge to Trinidad\u2019s gay sex ban\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-08T07:34:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5341\"},\"wordCount\":539,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5341#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/e5a4491b78fc52dd6b89e171e81851af.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5341#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5341\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5341\",\"name\":\"English court to rule on final challenge to Trinidad\u2019s gay sex ban - 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