HRC calls on CIG to legalise gay unions
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Human Rights Commission has said government needs to legalise same sex unions before the country finds itself in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights and its own constitution. The HRC has pointed out that, while the Cayman Islands Constitution 2009 defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, it doesn’t prevent laws to provide for same-sex couples to access similar rights and obligations that married couples enjoy in civil partnerships.
The issue is bound to stir up considerable controversy in the vocal conservative Christian community, however the international landscape regarding the rights of same-sex unions is changing rapidly and Cayman is in danger of facing lawsuits that it will not be able to defend unless it paves the way for such lawful partnerships.
The human rights experts said in a release Monday that a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights delivered last Tuesday (21 July), which requires Italy to provide a legal framework allowing same-sex couples to have their relationships recognised and protected under domestic law, increases the need for Cayman to also provide a legal framework for same-sex couples to have their relationships similarly protected.
“The judgment has very important civil rights implications for same-sex couples within the jurisdiction of the Court — which includes Cayman — indeed Cayman’s own Constitution mirrors the protections provided by Article 8 of the Convention in Article 9 of our Bill of Rights,” the HRC stated in an official release.
With more than half of the European Union’s member states having already passed legislation to protect civil unions and the rising tide around the world recognizing the right of same sex couples to enjoy a private family life, Tuesday’s ruling is also in line with the recent findings of the United States Supreme Court.
As attitudes and understanding regarding same-sex unions change, Cayman will not only be on the wrong side of history if it resists the advances in human rights for LGBT members of society who wish to have loving relationships legitimized and protected in law but also on the wrong side of the courts.
The HRC has warned that, given the ECHR ruling, the domestic constitution and the global trend and attitudes of the courts, the Cayman Islands Government is now increasingly vulnerable to costly legal battles and findings against it unless it creates a framework to accommodate same sex unions.
“The Human Rights Commission agrees that all couples in stable relationships should be entitled to equal dignity in the eyes of the law, regardless of their sexual orientation. The Cayman Islands should take this opportunity to amend its laws,” the HRC stated.
The changing environment over the rights of same-sex couples finally recognizes the desire for couples to formalize their partnerships. The European court echoed the sentiments of the recent US ruling when it spoke about the wishes of same-sex couples. It said, “Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.”
However, regardless of the legal implications and the need for the local government to act, it is unlikely to rush towards the necessary legislation. The pressure from local churches and their influence over voters is likely to stall the need for a legal framework and may see the public purse stretched to fight legal battles that it cannot win in order to placate the conservative Christian position.
During the battle to negotiate a modern constitution for the Cayman Islands with the UK, the issue of same-sex marriage dominated the church’s involvement in the talks. What was often seen by the Human Rights Committee (the precursor to the commission) as obsessive preoccupation with same-sex relationships led to what many view as a weakened constitution that lacks teeth when it comes to discrimination, not just against same-sex couples but the disabled and other vulnerable groups as well.
In recent weeks a local campaign has begun in Cayman for the recognition of rights for the LGBT community. The launch follows an interesting series of three seminars earlier this year organized by the Truman Bodden Law School, in which the legal issues and implications for Cayman were examined by an expert on the subject from Kings College, London, the governor and one of the law school’s own lecturers.
CNS was contacted by some members of the student body who said the law school faculty had not fully supported the series, which drew considerable audiences. They also implied that the departure of Dr Leonardo Raznovich, the professor who helped organise the series and delivered the final lecture, was because of his sexual orientation.
The law school has, however, categorically denied the allegations and its director, Mitchell Davies, said the faculty was very supportive of the seminars and assisted with the production and fundraising.
“For reasons of privacy, I am unable to disclose the reasons behind the decision not to offer Dr Raznovich a new contract of employment, but I would reassert, in the strongest of terms, that those reasons have nothing to do either with the aforementioned lecture series or with Dr Raznovich’s sexuality, and suggestions to the contrary are a manifest distortion of the truth,” he said.
HRC’s Statement on the European Court of Human Rights Ruling in Favour of Same-Sex Unions, July 2015
Our great Royal Family are “DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH”
Independence time. I can’t wait to show off our new flag.
Cayman has a version of Christianity that suits it.What abut fornication, babies being born out of wedlock, people breeding like rabbits with no responsibility?
How come there isnt and outcry about that, and much more? I thought that the bible said that sin is sin!!!!
“Throw The First Stone” was only a small part of the lesson…
Jesus actually spoke on forgiveness, then stopping the sinful behavior, and then walking in HIS Way: ““He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone. Has no one condemned you?”
She said, “No one, Lord.”
Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
“I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
John 8
Perhaps of the local Christians would apply this to all areas of life (adultery / gambling / drinking a lil wine etc.) then, maybe the rest of the world would respect Christianity more as a religion.
Is this about conservative religious intolerance and bigotry, generated by a belief in a book that is far younger than most realise. Are we seriously saying that our lives should still be dictated too by stories interpreted in the Dark and Middle Ages by lonely, celibate, fanatics whose path to righteousness was through wholesale torture and murder.
CNS: The rest of this comment is posted here: Featured comment: Legalising gay unions
Never fails. You want to get people in Cayman excited? Just tell them the gays are coming……..
The trick is not to panic unnecessarily as this is only a suggestion from Europe at this time.
If all straight persons can make their way to gather at their nearest stadium where they can be protected.
I am one Christian who is in favor of legalization of gay marriage. The way I see it is the line at the pearly gates will be a lot shorter after this comes into effect (who likes waiting in line?). I can also imagine the gates of hell would look a lot like the cruise shippers waiting to get back on the boat at South Terminal at 3:30 in the afternoon.
Legalize it!
We gonna fix that – the new cruise dock will have a Dip installed in the middle of it, so that they can be baptised as they come off the gay ships.
Right bobo
But dont criticize it.
Then you will join them. Good luck with that.
I am all for any kind of marriage. I know lots of ladies who would (and probably should) marry their cats. I say anything goes.
There are quite a lot of uninformed people posting here. A cacophony of opinions do not cast any doubt on truth. Truth is absolute and will still stand after the cackling and bully boy tactics have all died down.
The buck will stop with God and He will have the final say, I promise you. He gave us certain guidelines for our own good, but we have chosen to go our own way and embrace all kinds of deviance.
Don’t hate people who choose to honour their Creator by standing up for His Word. They do not hate you as you would like to think, they are warning you.
To those of you that do not believe in God, your opinion will be short-lived as you have a one on One in your future that will dispel all doubt.
To those of you that hate God, perhaps you should turn your hatred to the Evil One who has infected this world with his deceptions and lies, Lucifer, as some like to call him. Many deluded souls actually believe that Lucifer is the good one and are dilligently trying to help him establish his New World Order.
To those of you that love God, let your lights so shine before men that they can see your good works and glorify God.
I will leave you with the wise words of the prophet who encourages us to straighten out things with God.
Isaiah 1:18 King James Version (KJV)
18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool..
All the best to everyone.
Don’t worry, it’s all about of god’s great plan. If all things happen through the will of god why go against it?
It is not God’s will that people are raped, robbed and lied to. It is our will and we have been given a free one at that. Knowing this, we should decide accordingly.
Trust me, I have actually hated God and blamed him for the mess in this world, but now I see the truth. It is God’s will that we should all be saved. He provided a Saviour, His only Son, the Living, Incarnate Word.
Not the old ” he has given us the freedom to choose how we live” routine. A nice get out clause if ever I heard one. Keep paying your ten per cent to the tribal leaders.
I haven’t been to church in years. No tribal leaders here, o wise and uninformed one…lol.
I actually think the most relevant Biblical passage on this subject is “Blessed are the cheesemakers.”
What’s so special about the cheesemakers?
They have shown us the whey?
Well, obviously it’s not meant to be taken literally; it refers to any manufacturers of dairy products.
Shame the meek can’t get a mention, theyve had a hell of a time.
I think he said blessed is the the Greek and he is going to inherit the earth. Did anyone catch his name?
This so called body HRC has done very little or next to nothing to establish or promote the basic rights of Caymanian people. Yet it is ready to push and ram this homosexual agenda down our throats with threats of legal action if we don’t comply or put this into law. HRC would do better trying to legitimize itself in Cayman than coming out of the closet with what its true agenda was in the first place.
Yes, if they don’t manage to “ram” this down your throats, they’ll sneak it in your back door.
Come now; the rules aren’t hard and fast.
There should be some way of getting together, sitting around a table and reaching around for a solution to be found.
Wait till Biggus Dickus hears of this!
Or his wife
From their website (over the last 12 months) apart from reviewing legislation and government policies on: the Conditional Release Law, Prohibited Immigrants, Human Trafficking, Deportation, Data Protection, Religious Accommodation, Women’s Rights, Disability Policy, Prison Policies, Protected disclosures, Minimum Wage, Domestic Worker Abuse, Mental Health, Sexual Abuse of Women and Girls, Immigration Policy, Firearms Ownership, the Cancer Registry, Legal Aid, Prohibited Publications, etc, etc, etc. WHAT HAS THE HRC DONE FOR US?
Precisely, not a damned thing.
Bruce soon come…
Oops. Caitylin soon come…
So interesting how people are being bullied into a corner by these modern educated people. Yet they are blaming Christians for being unloving and uncaring. Maybe you could consider writing your thoughts with love and being opened to the conversation you are demanding.
The other thought is the expressed ignorance of Christianity is so evident, it would be helpful if Christians confidently express their faith’s position and those modern thinkers who do not subscribe to Christianity take the time to understand Christian positions and properly construct their positions before they spew their arrogant vitriol.
Ridiculous behavior, no shame, proud of their warped thinking and in public, monkey see monkey do. We all have our own problems, but we must strive to do what is right. The world gone crazy, why a man and a woman, because that is how you will get the next generation, and a few more of them too.
What about over population and starving homeless abandoned children?
I don’t mind Christians as long as they do what they do behind closed doors and don’t try to ram their fantasy world down my throat or interfere with my day to day life.
No Christians are trying to ram nothing down your throat. Christians are not like the Muslims, you are just lucky to be living among Christians, otherwise you wouldn’t have your head still on your body.
Its all up to you what spirit you choose, the light or the darkness, Christ said man shun the light because it will expose him of his dirty deeds and sins, so he is scared of the truth and the light. Please leave us Christians alone, we are happy to have someone to pray to and give thanks to.
But you are trying to impose you religious views on the law. Which about as much ramming as you can do legally.
you would also lose your head for eating conch and turtle and then the island survives on banking or usury, please see Ezekiel 18.13
“He lends at interest and takes a profit. Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he is to be put to death; his blood will be on his own head”
see the hypocracy?
The day that two men can make a baby or two women make a baby then legalize it.
So you are saying that infertile men and women should not be allowed to marry because they can not make a baby?
That’s a tricky one, being as they can’t have sex until after they’re married.
They may not be physically able, but we can campaign for their right to have children.
It is odd that a religion of tolerance seems to create such foaming at the mouth bigotry.
I’m more concern about pigs flying than I am about two people of the same sex wanting to get married. Let them have the opportunity to see what a wonderful union that is. Trust me, in a few years, they will give it back.
let us not be blinded to the REAL issues plaguing Cayman; crime, cost of living, poverty, crime, did I mention CRIME!!!???
Lets not be simple turkeys ab be distracted so easily, please!!!
Maybe we should just forget about marriage in general.
We give every male over the age of 12 one month to grow a beard and prove their straightness.
Why not let the government decide our peoples sexual preference, that way we can have a balanced society.
Yep –
Men to the right, females to the left, hairdressers, stay where you are!
Agree with HRC completely here. Problem is thiere is so much ignorance in Cayman (older “Christian” society) that Cayman will no doubt have to be dragged in to the 21st century. Otherwise the “new” constitution wouldn’t read as such an “old” document. Human Rights for LGBT persons, posession of small amounts of marijuana and “real” protection of children from abusers and protection of the disabled. Not to metion the right to dance on a Sunday!
And the greatest of these is love…
Back off Christian hypocrites.
Life is short. Leave folk alone while you believe in your bronze-aged , pre-science tenets.
Faith is the purposeful suspension of crtical thinking!
It’s called goat people scripture.
The bullock drovers and their tribe do not recognize the goat scriptures and regard you as heretics.
Love does not limit itself to the opposite sex.
And as science has proven through evolution and logical thinking, that obsolete & ill-founded religious thoughts are wrong.
The world is not flat any longer my friend.
The real debate should focus on why the judiciary in EU and USA sees it fit and proper to make laws on such matters. This is contrary to the rule of law and democracy as we know it. I suggest that by supporting human rights in this type of manner is clearly against democracy and that people saying that we should support it or be on the wrong side of history should evaluate themselves and ask themselves are they on the wrong side of democracy. It seems as if they are attempting some sort of far right version of fascism whereby anyone who opposes their view is deemed “backwards”. Shame on them and how dare they preach their propaganda from behind the bench. Where these judges elected by the people to represent the people?
So, all that want to impose views on others I humbly suggest this is done at the ballot box and in consultations with your elected leaders. Until then, I support that the CIG fight any legal battle as it sees fit and resist any judgment by the Human Rights courts. And heading off any comments about CI being a UK jurisdiction; I would reply does that mean that we do not have right to democracy because we are property like slaves or pets?
Good night to you all
The US has a representative Constitutional democracy, meaning it has several mechanisms that prevent “pure” democracy in which a simple majority could remove what are held to be human rights from a minority. God knows it’s not perfect, not even close, but a government where any large enough group could make slaves, criminals, or victims of the rest sure as heck wouldn’t be, either.
With being a UK territory, comes the responsibilities that come with it. You can’t shrug those responsibilities as and when you see fit. It’s all or nothing.
I’d like to clarify here first that the United States is not a democracy (though it has a democratic process) but rather a Republic. In a Republic, the power of government is vested in the Law NOT the majority precisely because the founding fathers of the US knew history and knew that pure democracy by itself has failed everywhere it was implemented – one of the failure made manifest in majority tyranny. I invite you to research this.
With respect to Cayman being a UK jurisdiction, you are right about that – I would invite all Caymanians to remember that (as much as it may pain them) Cayman is not a sovereign country; Cayman is a territory of the UK. The Crown has granted us a certain amount of autonomy as a territory (especially one that is so geographically far-removed from the UK), but this does not make us our own nation.
And for those who’d rather us go independent before legalizing same-sex unions, a word of caution; independent, sovereign nations must have their own military to defend its borders. God help us (pardon the pun) on that day should Cuba, Jamaica, Honduras, or any other nation decide to invade us.
HRC cant stop the UK from spying on us and violating the Caymanian people rights but it can bring this rubbish to impose their immorality to further burden our economy with benefits for their homosexual problems aaaaaah Cayman we are paying now with your souls to keep colonialism alive eh????
This is a tricky one as I think they have us over a barrel for this ruling. My own personal view is that we should live and let live, as long as they don’t come and ram it down my throat I will be as tolerant as the next person.
Ahaha – unfortunate idiom you used there.
Pun intended?
Have you ever noticed that those people who are most fervent about telling you about their religion are the same people who have absolutely no interest in hearing about your beliefs.
gay marraige???….. we can;t even dance on a sunday………..zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Or spell on a Monday.
another story that highlights the ignorance and hypocrisy of ‘caymanian christianity’……….
“Caymanian Christianity”? All of the Christianity in Cayman came from England, including the King James (King of England and Scotland 1604) Version of the Bible that you now choose to disparage.
Indeed it was required of us by English Law, passed down and enforced. The natives of the Caribbean, Arawaks and Caribs had their own religion before the Europeans outlawed it. It was based on peace and love and is the main reason none of them are around now, the Europeans took advantage of it and killed them off.
According to Columbus, the Caribs tolerated and allowed homosexuality……….The Arawaks on the other hand, tried to kill him because one European ate as much food as five of them.
Now the Europeans and their convention on Human Rights have decided to outlaw the teachings of the King James Bible that they forced on us before, and make it illegal, punishable by Law to follow its teachings.
Then again, WE chose to be England’s step child since 1962 and don’t look to be responsible for our own affairs for years to come…….perhaps sometime in the next 52 years it will become illegal to NOT hire $200.00 pound prostitutes, to snort cocaine with, while stealing thousands of pounds of taxpayers money through rent control apartments……………..at least if we expect to be the one in charge of everyone else’s ETHICS.
I am just glad England, or America don’t force itself to have a PMFL law, an FFR law nor an Auditor General or their Auditor General would make Mr. Swarbrick look like a rank amateur.
Oh like Caymanians dealing in cocaine, running prostitutes, killing each their for profit and influence, laying around outside local bars during the working day, beating their wives and girlfriends, mugging tourists, forcing low paid workers to live in substandard accommodation, treat their fellow Caribbean islanders and outsiders with total disdain and even open racism. Don’t lecture us on morals or ethics when your whole economy was built on indentured slavery, money laundering and wholesale political corruption.
When Cayman closes down every shell company it gratefully takes illegal money from, pays a living wage to all workers and cleans up its political elite, then you can start waving the flag of integrity.
Until then go back to school and learn your own history. These islands were made British territory after the Treaty of Madrid, it was colonised by British settlers and has remained a British sovereign territory ever since. 1962 saw your divorce from Jamaica and a continuation of British rule, not English adoption as you stupidly claim.
And for your further information, all Christianity didn’t come from England, it came as a consequence of British settlement, likely by defectors from Cromwells Puritan New Model Army in Jamaica. As a British citizen, you should understand the difference between England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom.
The KJV is an ancient relic, let’s just leave it to those sad people who live in fear of it and use it as a crutch for their own insecurities. The world has moved on since King James, as it has from two world wars, it is an historical document founded in blood and torture. Or should we reinstate slavery, just because King James thought it was a good idea to boost Christian values, commerce and industry?
Finally your ignorance is there for all to see, but it is written in bright lights when you attempt to comment on UK and U.S politics and financial safeguards. What a dumbass.
Yeahhh
HRC, can you legalise my 2 baby-mammas also?
Why wait til u die to have many wives?
Adam was made for eve he was not made for Steve!
Don’t be basic.
Unless Steve is a sacred vessel
We have a winner!
Unless adam was pressed for some sort of commitment and had a meltdown, making steve have a moment too resulting in him and jermaine sneaking off to a cottage for the weekend, leaving everyone feeling massively awkward at work over the next week.
I may not agree with it, but I agree with people having the right to choose. As for so called Conservative Christians, I find them generally to be nearer to the Devils point of view than loving and caring Christians-look at the hate they spew. Dont remember anything in the bible about that-in fact its all about love…
Which bible you a read
What would Buju say?
I wanna be loved not for who you think I am….Ooops! Wrong song.
Boom bye bye…
Of course this is one of the problems with Cayman’s outdated laws. Our construction regulations don’t allow for the erection of buildings sufficiently high to throw gays off. The observation tower at Camana Bay has been proved not to be high enough, and while the Caribbean Club and Watercolours may well have sufficient height, they are not sufficiently accessible to the public to allow for proper, summary Christian justice. It is a sad day when we have to admit that the devout men of ISIS are ahead of us on this issue. Still, it’s good to know they agree with us about the gays.
Very clever and witty comment, JTB. I wonder if you heard the hateful bile on Sterling Dwayne’s programme today, especially from those callers from the Brac who believe they are profound thinkers but of course are 19th century evangelicals who believe every word in the Bible is the word of you know who – even when these words are astonishingly contradictory or call for obscene things like enslavement of women. It would be too much to ask them to look into the allegedly nefarious goings on of Mrs. Juliana O Connor Connolly who they keep on electing because she is also one of these simpleton Christians but who needs to answer some serious charges made by the Auditor General about decidedly non Christian activity.
No I missed that programme. Probably a good thing for my blood pressure that I did
Ah marriage is overrated anyways!
I’m terribly disappointed that with almost 30 comments on this story so far, not one person has yet tried to win the argument by deploying the quote about ‘Adam & Steve’
It is however reassuring to see that bigotry, intolerance and mental illness remain strong in the Cayman Islands, and that instructions given to a stone-age goat herd by a burning bush are still considered to be relevant.
As another poster has commented below, ‘church goers’ as a group seem to demonstrate very few of those qualities which are supposed to be Christian.
You can find instructions in the old testament for anything you care to name. Judges 19:22-30 for example authorizes sexual slavery and rape as a means of settling disputes. Why don’t we adopt that one?
Or is it just that there is a kind of person who enjoys imposing their will on others, and takes delight in the censorious obstruction of the happiness of other human beings.
If your imaginary friend does exist, then I suspect he is more interested in the new testament than the old, and you are all going to the hot place when your time comes.
I trust you see the irony in the fact that the Bible verse you quoted, comes from the King of England, King James. It was the basis of English law since the 1600’s and followed throughout the entire English empire…………but of course it is only “ignorant” Caymanians that believed in it or that have laws that prohibit homosexuality?
Good luck with that bigoted mindset in China, Asia, the middle east or just about anywhere lese that Britannia did not rule.
Hmm, don’t think I said any of the things you are criticising me for saying.
But, I think you’ll find the Book of Judges appears in every version of the bible. And, while I disapprove of discrimination and bigotry wherever they occur, this article is about the laws of the Cayman Islands.
I wish Caymanians would put the same vehemence and energy into implementing the recommendations of the Auditor General and stopping their politicians from their corrupt mischievousness as so many of them put into into blathering on about the Bible, God and the necessity to prevent gays and others from achieving their natural (“God given”?) human rights.
Let he without sin, cast the first stone.
In the King Mac version that reads, “let he who is without sin, pelt the first rock stone”
No one shall stone anyone, until I blow this whistle. Even if he does say Jehovah.
Are there any women here today?
Or the Holy hand grenade of Antioch.
Book of Armaments, chapter 3.
homosexual passions and acts are unnatural, shameful, contrary to sound doctrine and they are deny entrance to the Kingdom of God.
This being so they cannot be the basis of a Christian marriage sanctioned by God’s Church.
The Church exists to save people, not to bless the means of their damnation.
No marriage can be sanctioned by the Church if the very basis of the marriage involves acts that put the couple outside of eternal salvation.
No matter what our society may legislate, the law of God is clear—that a marriage is not a godly marriage if it is a same sex union.
strange the way jesus, son of god, never said anything like that…..
Well he did have two fathers remember.
He was the messiah. I should now as I have followed a few.
He has left us His shoe!
He has also brought forth the juniper berries. Another sign.
Do not take the shoe as a sign, he has left us his gourd, the holy gourd of Jerusalem!
Read the book. Luke 1. Mary was a surrogate. When I say read, I mean read carefully, not gloss over. Mary was a surrogate ONLY. Neither Joseph nor Mary provided DNA, otherwise He could not be ALL God, yet He did arrive fully in the flesh. So who does that make you? Think carefully before you answer. The truth will shock you and get you thrown out of most churches.
Interesting. So you adhere to EACH and every precept set for in the Holy Bible? I guess you’d better gather up a bunch of stones and carry them with you, because there are men that trim their beards, people who wear mixed fabric clothing, and let us not forget those horrible sinners who fail to trade their slaves properly.
The Bible is a good book. Much of the Old Testament contains cultural rules for people of that time.
Look, it’s pretty simple. Homosexuality occurs in nature — in humans and in other animals. It’s a proven fact. I myself cannot recall a time when I “chose” or debated with myself my sexuality. I just knew, as you did. I didn’t weight the pros or cons of same-sex vs. opposite sex. God made me the way I am. I am attracted to the opposite sex, not that it matters.
When you’re carrying your bag of stones, seeking out people to judge, don’t forget to cast a look in the mirror, for the log in your eye.
peace.
Churches are generally run by men (or dare I say it, women!) who tend to interpret what they wish from the various scriptures, promoting their own bigoted views rather than the love that was intended to be taught. No religion condones hatred. See how it goes?
I believe God is about LOVE, and it should not matter if it is from a 2 men or 2 women relationship.
What you believe is irrelevant. Where does God stand on the matter?
That is the thing, He doesn’t. But people like to talk as they knew God’s mind. Always saying God like this, God like that….I was replying to this “No matter what our society may legislate, the law of God is clear—that a marriage is not a godly marriage if it is a same sex union”…. but somehow my comment it is showing up in a different trend.
God’s mind is revealed in His Word. That would put you on shaky ground. Come back after you have read a couple of verses. That is all it takes.
Read Leviticaus 18:22 we do not need that slackness in Cayman.
Respect our Christian heritage and what Cayman is and what many expats found. Please stop trying to be like everywhere else. Follow God’s commandments. Prepare for the rapture and REPENT!
Yes, that seems like a splendid document on which to base our laws:
“And the swine, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch; they are unclean to you.” (Lev. 11:7–8)
“As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are round about you. You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their families that are with you, who have been born in your land; and they may be your property. You may bequeath them to your sons after you, to inherit as a Possession for ever.” (Lev. 25:44–46)
“It shall be a perpetual statute throughout Your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat nor blood.” (Lev. 3:17)
“You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard.” (Lev. 19:27)
“Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. But anything in the rivers that has not fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is an abomination to you. They shall remain an abomination to you; of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall have in abomination. Everything in the waters that has not fins and scales is an abomination to you.” (Lev. 11:9–12)
“If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.” (Lev. 20:10)
“For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man blind or lame, or who has a mutilated face or a limb too long, or a man who has an injured foot or an injured hand, or a hunchback, or a dwarf, or a man with a defect in his sights or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles; no man of the descendants of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to offer the Lord’s offerings by fire; since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God…He shall not come near the veil or approach the altar, because he has a blemish, that he may not profane my sanctuaries…” (Lev. 21:18–23)
Read Leviticus 11.12 and wonder why you have a turtle farm and munch down on Conk Chowder. Eating it is also an abominiation.
Reading Leviticus always makes me want to play Numbers
Try Eszekial, everyone in the banking and finance industries would have to be put to death
Not a bad idea.
I’m confused…if you follow the commandments from the old testament doesn’t that make you Jewish and not Christian..Just Sayin.
Oi vay
For someone that studies the bible as closely as you do the name is Leviticus. Love your neighbor as your self…Man is not to judge. You don’t need to condone them but you also don’t need to condemn them either. Jesus forgave everyone so you telling someone that he wont is not christian in my eyes. Jesus grouped homosexuals with fornicators and adulterers…these seem to be acceptable to your religions so if one part of the group is ok then the rest must be also.
Aren’t you sick of pounding a square peg in a round hole?
You may want to see a doctor about that square peg.
Read Brian: verse 2.just after tea time
“And at this time a man shall lose another man’s hammer”
Read my last CUC bill and weep before the alter of Cayman slackness
Notice to all Christians
Some people are gay.
Get over it.
Love God
Gays getting married and Herb still illegal! WHATS UP WITH THAT????
I know! Even the Bible even recommends it. “If a man lies with another man, he should be stoned.” Leviticus 20:13
Get over yourself pothead
Activists will challenge Cayman’s stance on this very very soon. And eventually there will be same sex marriage. The intolerant ones in Cayman are those of a certain age who call themselves Christians though “churchgoers” (not at all the same thing) would be a better term. They are going to die out. The younger Caymanians-especially the educated ones- are much less impressed by the bible or indeed churchgoing, and are very much more tolerant about LGBT matters.
Re: “Systemic intolerance has no place in a community based on Christian values.”
You must have not read your Holy Bible recently … or an accurate textbook on western history.
Just saying.
– Whodatis
I don’t really care either way what gays do in the privacy of their own homes… but in this great era of information how on earth is anyone still religious anyway?
I’m not religious, and I don’t care either what they do in their home.
However, I do care when there are children living in that same home. They can’t speak for themselves, so someone has to defend and speak for them.
We don’t need young people growing up confused because they see their sex same parents kissing each other. Next thing you see they try it on the playgrounds at school and all hell will break loose when word gets around.
I would like to see what the pro-immorality people will say then.
I’m confused. Why would the children be confused?
I have just switched off poor Sterling Dwayne’s programme because I was so embarrassed by the deeply intolerant attitude of the “Christian” callers who kept going on and on in a crazed sort of way about Cayman needing to defy the rest of the world and follow, as one particularly verbose and vehement lady said, “the rulebook called the B-I-B-L-E”. In the middle of all this, one caller said how horrified she was at the crime in Cayman and claimed “when we had our own Caymanian policemen walking up and down and doing community work, these sorts of things didn’t go on”. Dwayne (who was doing his best in difficult circumstances) might have asked her when that idyllic time was but alas he didn’t. Cayman will be made a laughing stock and dragged into the 21st -or maybe just the 20th – century whether it like it or not.
If we obeyed “the rulebook called the B-I-B-L-E” we would pretty much being living in similar conditions as in ISIS
that talk show was an outrage and shows how backward and unchristian caymanians are…….. and i have no pity for dwayne….he sat back and let callers spew venom and hate……
As a student of TBLS it must be made clear that while some student supported the seminar XXXXX not everyone did as students. The few does not speak for the majority!
If you intend to practice law, and are in fact a student at the CI Law School, you might want to get your head around something called Human Rights.
You may also find that a part of Human Rights is also freedom of expression… Do you agree with every law ever made?
Do they teach English grammar at the TBLS?
More to the point, do they teach law?
Seems like you’re genuinely confused.
People that swing on the other side (referring to the LGBT Community) need to repent and pray to the Almighty God for forgiveness and read their Bibles. God never made you to be this way. If you would like equal rights please go back your country or to the United States (since they are all for LGBT rights and is being ruined left right and center) and live there.
I hope and pray that Cayman never adopt these rights.
i guess there are no gay caymanians then.
The person said “people”. Didn’t say any specific nation of people. Stop trying to twist people’s comments to make them sound ignorant. Of course there are gay Caymanians as well as there are Caymanian drug addicts, criminals, mentally unstable etc. Isn’t that what you find everywhere else in the world also? Just because a few people don’t agree with you doesn’t make them wrong! I say before we focus on gay marriage focus on all the domestic abuse on this island. Speak to all the child molesters and predators! Speak of the dump that is killing ALL of us, not just a few; speak of what is really important and get the priorities straight. Speak of the increase in crime and the fact that nothing is being done about it. Gay marriage rights are NOT a priority for this country, maybe it was for America, it is not for us. Peace.
So where would you send the gay casmians back to?
Peace
Argentina I suppose
i did not have to twist anything to make the comment sound ignorant. the poster managed to achieve that outstandingly all by themselves.
I keep getting mixed up about claustrophobia and homophobia. Which is the one about being in a closet?
Keep on praying. I’m sure if god thinks it’s that important he’ll get right to it.
YOU have to understand that your god, is not mine.
Do what you feel is good according to your religious rules, but do NOT demand others to live the same way.
The laws of a country should be above religious believes.
Agreed. As screwed up as the U.S. is in many ways, at least they have that right.
So let me get this straight. Its ok for you children to commit fornication and for you to commit adultery but not for those who are from the LGBT to have rights. Have you even read the bible…all three of those people and liars are put in the same category…you might want to let your preachers and politician know.
No that is not so. Adultery and fornication is also wrong but Jesus died on the cross to forgive us our sins. However once we acknowledge jesus as our savior we must leave behind the sinful nature and seriously try to live a holy life. God will forgive us but we really should not purposely live in sin and expect to avoid the wrath to come. Everyone has free choice but free choice comes with responsibilities.
Just keep paying your ten per cent each month and leave the “pastors” to do the tribal stuff.
I do not want to hear your imposing views.
Explain to me again how Jesus is our savior
Yawn. Zzzzzzz
People who eat Conch and turtle also need to repent and pray to the Almighty God for forgiveness and read their Bibles.
How so unsurprising the assault on marriage would soon arrive to cayman.
I know! Now people here will start cheating, divorcing… wait, what?
Cayman on the wrong side of history? I love how opinion is woven into these articles. Since you’ve shared yours, let me share mine.
Morality > Equality
Marriage cannot be consummated by sodomy or rubbing up. If gay people want rights, give it to them, but leave marriage and their attempt to raise children as husband and wife out of this.
They should be compelled to have children. If they can’t produce, then they should not be allowed to adopt children.
Yes, much better to hate gays than to allow orphans to have a family.
Then they teach and train the children in their life style. The poor children will be so confused, seeing two women or two men interacting in what they are supposed to call home. Sure some sick people in this world.
Gay couples cannot conceive children spontaneously or accidentally, as heterosexual couples can; children conceived, or adopted and raised together by a same-sex couple are the result of deliberate effort and some expense, Couples raising an intended, wanted child seem to have good parenting outcomes.The greatest threat to the well-being of their children is the “stigma” created by the hate of narrow-minded bigots who apparently have a vital part of their souls missing.
Yet so much hatred and vitriol spewed from the mouths of our “Christian” community last week across the airwaves.
don’t confuse love with acceptance and hatred with rejection. A parent has to discipline a child when he/she has done wrong not because they hate the child but because they love the child. I agree, Christians have to be very careful in what we say and think… because none is more righteous than the other.. we have all sinned. I guess what is most irritable is that one group wants freedom to the coercion of another… and the encroachment on christian terminology to suit non christian unions. But in the end it will NEVER be the same, you can call a dog a fish but it will always be a dog.
and the encroachment on christian terminology to suit non christian unions.
The word has long pre-Christian roots, actually, so if anyone got to claim exclusive rights to it, it wouldn’t be Christianity.
Concept remains same biblical or torah wise – the long thread of Christian religious heritage- linking back to the ceremony in the Garden of Eden (since we want to back date)- one man one woman exclusively.
What?!! The Bible is chock-full of polygamy. Solomon alone had 1000 wives and concubines, think about that next time you’re discussing who needs the car today. One man one woman exclusively, mercy me.
Imagine having 1,000 mother-in-laws!
so well said
It seems the Cayman Islands never misses an opportunity to embarress itself. Time to get with the times Cayman. Systemic intolerance has no place in a community based on Christian values.
I don’t mind your so call “embarrassment ” , if it means not legalizing gay and lesbian unions/marriages. This is one fight you all will never win on this island so please do not even waste your time. There are more of us against it than for it and we have no intention of caving in on this one. Also have you heard thatMeningitis is now also showing up in Homosexuals more than any other category of people?
You are a complete moron. Its also true that Christians are filled with bullshit but we all still have to deal with your stone age mentalities in the year 2015.
More than in children, teens, and the elderly? No, I have not heard that. One guess as to why…
Yes, do your research. As you should it will keep you real quick if infected early. At least with Aids you might a chance with medication.
I googled it, and found among other things the CDC website which lists the 3 groups above as being the most at-risk. Yes, there’s occasionally an outbreak among gays; there are occasionally outbreaks among school children, college students, elders in retirement homes, and soldiers living in barracks. Close contact is how it spreads, it doesn’t discriminate about the exact nature of the contact. Now, if you’d like to supply evidence to the contrary, why don’t YOU do the research to support YOUR claims and then share it?
really? Dr Bolan, who is the medical director of the LBGT centre in LA is alarmed at how many gays coming down with meningococcal disease A deadly bacterial infection seldom seen in this day and age. LA had 33 cases in 2014 and 12 were gay men and 7 also has HIV. In NY 22 were infected – 7 died and all of the 22 were men who had sex with men. Whether you want to accept that it is happening more in Gay men than in any other segment is your business but please do not try to water it down by saying it is an occasional outbreak. It is also showing up in many other places so you better careful who you kiss out there.
Like I said, there are occasionally outbreaks among gays as there are in other groups with close contact. IT IS STILL NOT HAPPENING MORE IN GAYS THAN OTHER GROUPS. If you want to claim otherwise, LINK something where it compares the incidence rates in various groups and gays are on top. Otherwise, between your belief based on TWO outbreaks and the current research of the CDC, I’m going with the CDC.
I just googled some stuff on the gay community and I was surprised. You know, as an adult male in the company of gays, they will not just go for you they do have to like a person a bit like a normal relationship, this has made me feel a little better.
Cayman. Do the right thing. It is time.
no, is not, only 16 countries has it legalized… and there are over 200. get your facts straight.
So Cayman is to say it is ok for a father to sexually abuse his daughter or son and get away with it with a slap on the hand, it is ok for an adult male to rape a woman or a child, it is ok for a husband to cheat on his wife or vis a versa, it is ok for a husband to beat his wife beyond recognition or again visa a versa, but people of the same sex love each other and want to marry who the hell are you to say NO!!! This is to all the holy than though people, CLEAN UP YOUR OWN BACK YARD before you worry about someone who isn’t hurting you!!! Where was God when a beautiful woman who only wanted to help people and did good, was killed in a heinous way???? So don’t start with your bible thumping antics!
Two wrongs don’t make a right- evil is evil no matter what form it takes.
but one apparently is tolerated by the church goers and one isn’t.
The bible also teaches us to put to death those that lend money and charge interest.
Again not only tolerated but supported in Cayman
A Jamaican father may have his daughter after all he made her and she is his property until her hand is given and a dowry is paid
Why are you messing with Jamaican culture and trying to make it your own
God destroyed the earth with a Flood because of this behavour and mindset . God have mercy that it is not a hurricane or Tsunami that will destroy us next time. He wiped out a nation because of this behavour again
God destroyed the world with a flood to get rid of sin and chose the righteous man Noah to populate the world. Yet we still have sin. So seems he cant get anything right.
Did you know the Hebrew word used for God “destroying” all flesh is the same one used to describe why? Genesis says He sent the flood because mankind has “destroyed” the world and filled it with violence, not because there were some gay folks.
So what did the dinosaurs do to deserve the wrath and be smoted?
And you pay ten per cent “tithe” each month just to spout this rubbish?
No wonder there are 200 churches, it s a growth industry right there.
Somebody is getting rich from ignorance.