Eden denies hate speech then attacks LGBTs
(CNS): During the budget debate on Monday opposition MLA Anthony Eden (SAV) denied engaging in hate speech about the lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender community. But appearing to be surprised by the warning from Governor Martyn Roper about the language used in the Legislative Assembly in the past, Eden denied that people who “choose” a gay lifestyle in Cayman had ever been harassed, before going on to deride the community and depict them as sinful people.
Eden did not respond to the premier’s call to support legislation for same-sex civil unions in order to meet the direction of the court. He instead welcomed the appeal court’s decision to overturn the chief justice’s ruling that legalised same-sex marriage and said nothing at all about his position on the need for Cayman to introduce, at the very least, civil partnerships for same-sex couples.
The MLA, who has been extremely vocal in his condemnation of any rights being afforded to the LGBT community, continued to press home his homophobic position while denying that the things he said were hateful or homophobic, maintaining that they were merely a defence of Cayman’s traditional values.
He said he was puzzled by the governor’s statement and that he did not know what he was implying. Eden claimed that in his near three decades in the Legislative Assembly he could not remember any member ever badmouthing or saying “anything degrading about these people” or acting untoward towards the LGBT community.
He said many people have family members “who have chosen this lifestyle” but could not remember them being harassed in the community or being refused any services.
He went on to accuse Dr Leo Raznovich and the former governor’s daughter, Olivia Kilpatrick, of stirring up trouble and blamed the current governor for supporting the chief justice’s decision to legalise same-sex marriage. He said he should not give such an opinion when he knew nothing about Caymanian traditions. Eden then questioned why Raznovich should be allowed to be here, ignoring the fact that he is the legal spouse and dependent of a lawyer working at Maples.
Eden also attacked Colours Cayman, the only activist group in Cayman campaigning for LBGT rights here, and said that if these advocacy groups get a foothold here they will force “it” on everyone. He derided the idea that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry and suggested it would open the floodgates of children being exposed to the idea that it is normal to be gay or bisexual.
He spoke about a gay agenda that was attempting to lead to homosexual relationships being accepted as normal, before suggesting that it was evil.
The veteran MLA said he had been vilified for quoting scripture that states homosexuality is a sin, as he went on to blame gay men for the AIDS epidemic and attacked the concept of gay pride parades or any declaration by the gay community of their right to exist.
Eden spent the bulk of his 45 minutes attacking the LGBT community but also called on the government to address the traffic issue.
See Eden’s speech in the LA on CIGTV below:
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Category: Local News
If you think homosexuality is a choice… you’re probably a gay man.
If you think sexual orientation isn’t partly genitically driven.. then you a fool
A perfect example of the modern christian
Vapid, ostentatious, narcissistic and endlessly self righteous not to mention completely dismissive of basic tenets of Christianity
And people wonder why churches around the world are losing parishioners in droves
If people like this man are the gold standard then me and many others have no interest
I totally agree with Mr Eden on the traffic issue but I am doubtful that it is caused by gay drivers.
Stop it…did he actually say that in his speech?!
What Tony doesn’t know is that the bible had many spelling errors , the main one was about Adam & Eve / it actually should have said , Adam & Eden .
LOL
I’m not joking when I ask…..shouldn’t candidates for elected office be subjected to educational, physical and psychological testing to ensure they are fit for the job? This guy is well past his “best before” date.
If you mean a ‘psych eval’, that’s not a bad idea. How about English tests as well? Some of the speeches I’ve heard MLAs make recently border on gibberish. Might not be a bad idea to subject them to random drug and alcohol tests while they’re at it, I suspect there’s a couple who might have problems with the former.
Did he take any time to address the FAILING primary school in his district or was he too busy gay bashing?
Just like the rest of Old Farts in that office outdated and out of touch with what is happening in the world! 2021 needs to hurry and I hope we can make the right steps forward and vote in some people that can take Cayman to the new ages. NOT FOR SALE NOT FOR RENT!!!!!!
Could not have said it better BoBo!
To insist that this is an established and confirmed “Christian” position is simply false. It is the position of super fundamentalist churches, which are so predominant in Cayman (as they are in places such as Mississippi, etc.). There are many places where “Christians” and Christian churches have evolved in terms of their interpretation and have accepted all sexual orientations.
But knowing that they do not believe in evolution anyway, I am not holding my breath here.
No. Read the Bible. This elected troglodyte is on solid footing. The good book is a bad book.
Wow! “Choose” really now?! He really thinks someone would wake up one day & CHOOSE to be gay?! What happened to logical thinking. I wonder what his children think of the hate he spews forth – imagine listening to this kind of hate at family gatherings… God forbid one of his grandchildren are gay!
Yea, I definitely choose to be persecuted by people like him. I love having my own people telling me to leave my own island.
99% of people love chocolate, but I hate it. I guess that’s a choice too – “just choose to eat chocolate and enjoy it like the rest of us, what’s wrong with you!?”
Again this is a man who refers to using a gun when talking about gay people
The idea that anyone is surprised at the repeated hate speech he spouts
The idea that anyone could contest what he is implying when he talks blows the mind
Have some integrity, you don’t have to like gay people or want gay marriage, but this man has nothing but hated in his heart, no ifs ands or buts
You can disagree with gay rights and other social issues without thinly veiled threats of violence
If he had his way he would probably round them up and gunpoint and put them into mass graves
The Compass included what he said in this article
This wasn’t 20 years ago or some position he had and has now back off from this is from this year
https://www.caymancompass.com/2019/04/07/same-sex-marriage-what-your-representative-said-on-the-issue/
Again this is a man who refers to a gun when talking about gay people
The idea that anyone is surprised at the repeated hate speech he spouts
The idea that anyone could contest what he is implying when he talks
Have some integrity, you don’t have to like gay people or want gay marriage, but this man has nothing but hated in his heart, no ifs ands or buts
If he had his way he would probably round them up and gunpoint and put them into mass graves
The Compass included what he said in this article
This wasn’t 20 years ago or some position he had and has now back off from this is from this year
https://www.caymancompass.com/2019/04/07/same-sex-marriage-what-your-representative-said-on-the-issue/
Basically, those that see nothing wrong with Eden’s attitude towards a segment of our society and the fact that his verbal attacks are not hate speech, are the same people that do not recognize CORRUPTION on this island.
Small town/island mentality which is extremely narrow minded. Like they are the only people that exist in the world and only their viewpoint counts….
Ignorance is strong here in the third world. A man who lives in the past can not lead anyone into the future. Cayman is already so far behind the rest of the world that it will never catch up.
I have said this before and I will say it again. I don’t support gay marriage but can support Civil Unions.
I do not like the way Mr Eden has approached this even thought my religious beliefs align with his on the fact that Christianity does not support gay marriage.
My final point is this article is written from one perspective and is evident by use of words to describe Mr Eden’s statements as “homophobic”. The article is therefore designed from one side and is not neutral.
“The article is therefore designed from one side and is not neutral.”
Its telling what your focus is, if you are going to claim something isn’t true then do so otherwise what does this bit mean, but simply saying the person who wrote this has a perspective and that means I can discount the piece is ludicrous, you might as well just stop reading anything written because if you haven’t noticed everyone has an opinion on just about everything
Something can be written by someone with a perspective you disagree with and still be completely true,
neutrality ≠ objectivity,
Not to mention you lot don’t actually care about neutrality at all, neutrality is only an issue when it is your beliefs are being challenged
If you want a Walter Cronkite blandly reading a headline and then pushing an entirely neutral middle of the road description of events on the evening news sorry to say that is long gone.
Pretending that journalists don’t have opinions is about as sensible as saying ” I don’t see race or characteristics”, the important thing for journalists is to be honest about that perspective and letting the reader or viewer make an educated decision about what media they will consume
Which CNS is doing and always has always done
As a final point If you discount CNS’ reporting then why even bother going out of your way to read their site ( of course you will read their other pieces but as soon as they put up one that upsets your disposition they are illegitimate)
Either they are credible or they’re not, picking and choosing which issues on which to accept their professionalism says more about yourself than it does about them
Reminder for those who don’t pay attention to the LA or know what was going on, all of this was said during a speech meant to be about the proposed budget, responses to the Throne Speech and Premier’s Policy Statement were done last week
He sat stewing for a week before coming back to the LA, to rant and rave about gay people during the debate on an entirely different issue, that is how much hates LGBTQ people
The man is obsessed with gay people, its just about the only thing he talks about regularly in the LA
and there is no question he propagates hate speech, when talking about gay people he often mentions his “shotgun” and how he will do whatever it takes defend himself and his family from them, referring to them like invaders and people we are in open conflict with
The sooner this man is out of the LA the better
Let’s not be too hard on this poor gentleman. Be fair and admit that he’s on solid ground regarding religious justification for being so backward and hateful. He’s certainly more logical and honest than all these potty-trained Christians who support pro gay rights.
Read the Bible. There is no way that Christianity, taken as clearly presented by core source materials, is compatible with basic human rights and modern decency. This man, a sad victim of religious indoctrination, is only trying to be faithful to the real Christianity. Although even he falls short because he hasn’t publicly called for the execution of gays, as the Bible directs.
It’s a truly weird state of affairs. We have some Caymanian Christians acting like horrible humans toward gays because they think their imaginary god demands it—and they’re right, he does. Meanwhile, we have other Caymanian Christians doing mental gymnastics and refusing to read significant parts of the Bible so they can be good and fair people, all to appease the same imaginary god.
It’s a shame everyone won’t just let go of all the make-believe nonsense and love each other simply because it’s the right thing to do.
#lame
It’s almost like the basis of religion is praxis and orthodoxists have brain worms that make them terrible human beings.
May God bless and protect Eden in Jesus’s name 🙏🏽
May science and reason enlighten Cayman. In reality’s name. 🙏
LOL
‘Merely a defence of Cayman’s traditional values.’ LOL, what a crock! What that means is as long as you turn up at the right church on Sunday sober enough to pray to God you can do what the f*** you like the rest of the time – spousal abuse, incest, adultery, fraud, theft, drug dealing, you name it and it’s all wiped off the slate by being a regular church goer.
I attended an event a few years ago where Eden was the invited speaker. He droned on and on about nothing in particular (although he did make several references to his US Army service) and then refused to join in when we sung the National Anthem. After that I’ve made it a point to stay well away from anything he’s involved in.
Caymanians, if you have children in our FAILED public education system, or if you are currently struggling to pay high private school fees to educate your child, ask yourself; should our government ministers be spending the public’s time and money worrying about homosexuality, or should they be spending the public’s time and money developing ways to fix the broken public education system so YOU’RE children have a future in this country?
*your* (but I appreciate the all CAPS on a grammatical error)
Proof that the educational system needs to be dealt with and leave two consenting adults be with their private lives
Reading through some of the comments here, I think its time that Cayman sought its independence from the UK. Cayman is just an embarrassment to the UK on so many levels and these idiots in the LA are symptomatic of an outdated Christian ideology that is the root to intolerance, bigotry and hypocrisy.
Why on earth does the LA have to discuss the alternatives to ‘marriage’ with the local religious community? Its simple, just adopt civil partnerships as you have been told to and then you can preserve the precious institution of ‘marriage’ which, by the way, is full of individuals in the Grand Court who are desperately trying to get out of!
What I can’t seem to understand is this…the government won their appeal…gay marriage is illegal in Cayman…why is he droning on and on about this?
Not what happened
The government won the appeal on the Chief Justice rewriting the marriage law himself
But they are still being instructed by the courts to remedy the discrimination that even the CIG’s lawyers have admitted exists in the current system
People saw overturned and just assumed they overturned the whole thing
Only part of the ruling was changed
The government is still being instructed to either introduce a new system that provides equality or amend the marriage law themselves
Church bots at it again
Even science is coming to a conclusion that people born with 2 sets of DNA could be a variation of normal. It is just very expensive and not practically possible to check DNA of different organs, therefore only blood and skin DNA is tested. A person can have have XX body and XY brain. Fascinating!
This could also complicate crime investigations and paternity tests.
https://time.com/4091210/chimera-twins/ How a Man’s Unborn Twin Fathered His Child
A bone marrow transplant turns the patient into a chimera. What I mean is that the DNA in their blood is different than the DNA in the rest of their cells. https://genetics.thetech.org/ask/ask208
Celebrate life! We haven’t even scratched the surface of understanding of natural processes and life itself.
Churchbots attack! You know, he might be on to something though. If we take away the cars from all the gays, woolah, traffic gone!
Nah, you’re just outnumbered.
The Governor is wrong, and the Uk, and the foreign LGBTQ – to push their agenda on our culture and try to change us through the courts 😡😡😡 Please respect who we are !!
It Is a born Caymanian suing for her rights, so respect who and where she is from. And to be clear she is not alone, every named family in Cayman has a gay.
Respect who you are? Eden would have you as a bunch of ignorant homophobes who are stuck in 1895. Is that who you want to be?
I strongly believe that as my representative that he no longer represents the enlightened society of tolerance and equal rights for all that I wish to see my children and the next generation live in.
Even with this issue aside, I have concluded that he’s practically a single issue candidate. I’m disappointed that he and many of the other candidates have not held any meetings within their respective constituencies to inform, discuss and hear form voters on the many urgent topical issues that are impacting the lives of working class people and our future.
Having said this, I do admire his personal qualities as a decent person; but I strongly believe that he, like other veteran politicians and some (newbies) need to call it a day!
#whatwouldkanyedo
Does anyone know why and when Mr Eden became so obsessed with the Bible and the anti gay stuff? He did not use to be like this.
He’s always been this way, but then, Cayman was always this way until the last couple of decades. It wasn’t all that long ago that people holding placards that said “Homo go Home” met a cruise ship with a gay group. Eden has just spoken more recently out because homosexuality has come out of the closet into the open here. He’s embarrassing, yes, but what is more embarrassing is that there are a LOT of Caymanians who think just like him. Most of them are older Caymanians, but the churches here have always had strong anti-gay sentiments and some younger people are inflicted with these kinds of hateful, antiquated kinds of thinking. And it’s not just Cayman – homophobia is rampant throughout the Caribbean.
Fantastic. Tony can prevent traffic like how he prevents gays, liquor store openings… I’ll never get to work.
My God this man is embarrassing. He thinks he is representing his voters- please show him that you’re not as backwards as he thinks you are.
You are the embarrassment because our duly elected representative expresses the opinion which we voters feel, your kind has nothing but cruel things to say. All of you anti Cayman policies and attitudes need to get the hell out and do not come back. Take the weak willed governor with you
As far as you know this person is also Caymanian, so you get the hell out. 80% of my LGBT friends are “true of the earth Caymanians” so clearly you are the embarrassing and ignorant one for not even knowing what I assume is your own Country. you are in for a rude reality check when they find their backbones and stand up to the likes of you and Eden.
Your guy is literally walking around condemning people and calling them pedophiles and child abuses
Gay people are trying to live their lives but somehow people who want to live their lives the way they want are being cruel
Seriously.. you people are so out of touch
I hope your god condemns you in the same way you condemn others
Its exactly what you deserve
Nothing but cruel things to say? Do not assume you speak for all Caymanians when you and people such as Tony Eden speak nothing but intolerance and bigotry. Makes me ashamed to be Caymanian.
Newsflash: I’m a born and raised Caymanian. I’m also bisexual and atheist. You’re no more or less Caymanian than me.
You have no right to tell any other Caymanian to leave their home if you don’t share opinions – as much as I’d love to fling your kind off the rock.
Anti-Cayman? You do realise that there are gay Caymanians right?
Its good to see a great defender of our children and future generation. You crew may knock him down all you want, but the man gets back up stronger and greater.
That walking fossil needs to hang up his coat – his 1960s mentality is no fit for 2020.
The biggest homophobes are usually the deepest in the closet.
7:46 1700s mentality more like. He always reminds me of the Imams who preach Sharia Law and Jihad.
Deepest in the bilge is more like it. There’s a reason for the homophobia in seafaring nations, where young, testosterone-filled men went to sea with just other men for months at time. Then they would come home to their wives and girlfriends.Of course they would anti-gay because a good offence is always a good defence.
Sorry CNS to burst your dream bubble, but Eden is ABSOLUTELY and 100% RIGHT 🙂👍🏼
If you want to know how backwards, retarded and hateful this sounds to the rest of the world just imagine if every reference to “gays” was a reference to “negroes” (including the suggestion it’s a lifestyle choice).
Choice is involved! What are talking about! I am black. That wasn’t a choice. I have the right to hate your choices. But I don’t have the right to hate who you are. Nobody is born gay!
I fancied other boys from the time I was 6 and I hadn’t even learned what sex was yet. Where’s your proof of that claim?
At what point did you decide to be straight instead of being gay?
(the answer is you didn’t decide to be straight, then why is it so hard for you to realize that gay people didn’t chose to be gay)
Did you tick it off on the nurse’s clipboard after you slid out of the birth canal? Is that sort of info also on your birth certificate
What a dumb question. As if being gay and being straight, are the SAME thing. What a dummy. You are not me and I am not you!
Serious question, were you born straight or did you decide one day to be straight? Same for being gay, no-one wakes up one day saying, ‘you know what that looks fun’. Even the Church has given up trying to defend that stance, preferring instead to accept that God made everyone the way they are for a reason and to question ‘why’ is a bit presumptuous. .
I was born gay. Ask any gay person in fact. I didn’t choose to be gay. Educate yourself on the subject please. When did you choose not to be gay? Did you just wake up and decided to be straight?
How old were you when you chose to be straight?
He’s an embarrassment. He’d probably have been a little bit odd in 1819, but in 2019 he’s just a disgrace.
Homosexual relationships are normal. Being superstitious about them isn’t.
He didn’t attack anyone- he was merely saying how on how this whole mess got to this point and who was responsible . The fact that we all do not agree with gay marriage etc. does not mean that we hate anyone. We all have differing opinions and beliefs. What is wrong with that? Tell the truth!
But it’s like, why are you not okay with it??? You don’t mind these people until they wanna get married. Their marriage will literally not affect your life in ANY way, so why fight it? And why do people think gay people ‘choose’ this lifestyle? If they had to choose, I think they would choose to be straight to avoid the constant harassment and online bullying, I think they would ‘choose’ to be straight just to have equal rights like get married. But they can’t choose. They didn’t choose this life. And many of them don’t even wanna be gay just because of the hate they get from so called ‘Christians’. This is not the Christianity I know!
I just vomited….
He is welcome to his beliefs.
He is welcome to it, but shouldn’t force it down our throats
Standing for morals is universal. … lol …You do best to accept it.
Perhaps you’d prefer something else?
Someone else should?
as neither should the lgbt
It wouldn’t matter much if he were ranting on the corner stool at the end of some bar, but he is a lawmaker sitting in the Legislative Assembly, and he is duty-bound to uphold civil law, the results from judicial review, and directives from the Queen’s appointed Governor – even if he doesn’t like it.
This is not a theocracy where select verse from the Oldest Testaments get to usurp the entire spirit of the New Testament (ie Christ, and Christianity), and nobody in that chamber should be allowed to behave with such contempt for our laws and judiciary without sanction/dismissal. There ought not to be any parliamentary privilege for theocratical contempt against one’s own citizens!
There is a difference between public life and private life. Enact the law as you were directed by the Courts or get it forced upon you, period.
What I don’t get is these old bigots have been engaging in god knows what with their cousins for years but two consenting non related adults are the sinners?
Good for you Mr. Anthony Eden – Cayman is supposedly a Christian nation and no one can argue about what the Bible explicitly says about homosexuality – “an abomination” period – end of story.
Also CNS, you should giveequal credit and coverage to the Honourable Minister from Cayman Brac East, Ms. Juliana – although a PPM, majority government and Cabinet member she has not contradicted her personal Christian views on homosexuality in any public forum.
Yes, the same Ms. Juliana that thinks cavemen rode around on dinosaurs like cowboys 8000 years ago when God created the earth. Ha, ha, ha, ha… she’s always worth a laugh….
And imagine they made her the Minister of Education
What a mess
The bible says lots of things are wrong but everyone just conveniently ignores them!
We’ll give her credit when she looks after her portfolio and does something about the dismal state of the education system…
Ah yes good Christians raping 13 year old girls and the churches are silent, they only speak out when it comes to LGBT equal rights under the law. From now on I will track down which church every rapist attends and hold that church to account for their lack of inaction when it comes to violent crimes, incest and rape. The churches are dying off here and this is the only fear mongering they have left as they can’t really promote beating of wife and children anymore.
Exactly, pure hypocrisy
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Prepare.
For God & Country.
For Humanity.
In Jesus name, Amen 🙂🙏🏽
Many people in the Cayman Islands agree with the positions put forward by Mr. Eden. I would even go so far as to say that the majority of registered voters agree with his stance on LGBT issues and the LGBT community in general.
Yea, we’ll see.
Not even close. Barely 2000 of 21,216. It is a much smaller zealot vote that anyone can gamble, and we already know who the lead gambler is.
Please provide a link to the source of the figures that you provide in your comment.
Jesusssssssss the cognitive dissonance and hate is real. You can’t force someone would be gay. If you’re not attracted to someone of the same gender then guess what, you don’t need to marry them! Do they really think there are no lgbt+ people born in Cayman????
@2:46 don’t be an idiot
eden is a perfect representation of the hypocrisy and ignorance of ‘caymanian christrianity’.
roper should demand his resignation immediately
“who have chosen this lifestyle”
“evil”
“sin”
How do you even begin to reach these kinds of people? Fundamentalist Christianity has so saturated their minds and damaged their morality that it seems close to hopeless.
#lame
The tragic thing is this hateful old fool speaks for large segment of the population.
Why do people still assume this to be true?
Maybe years ago when there were only 8000 voters and perhaps 5000 of those might have been slow with the times, and only 9-12 a year added via classifieds in the back of the Compass!
Now, it’s 2019, with 21,216 and maybe 2000 aging backward-thinking-and-pining-for-yesteryear zealots. They are way outnumbered. Over half the electorate tally has been added post-Ivan.
This regime is proving time and again that it doesn’t know who their voters are, or what they think – and they haven’t asked!
We’re voting NO to all of it, and YES to enactment of SIPL. Need to get these backroom-dealing dinosaurs out asap.
I am really tired if having my future dictated by people that wont be around to see it.
If you are tired, you can travel off the island 😉
Where? Caymanians call the Cayman Islands home. Don’t try to chase us out
Only if you can assure me that the airplane door will smack me hard on the way out. I’d like that.
oorrr since I was born here and I’m part of one of the oldest families on islands, I’m going to stay and try to change things!!!! but hey if you don’t like feel free to leave 🙂
Telling your own people to leave their home country. Burn in hell unna hypocrites
See but if they’re from this island why should they have to leave because your bigoted views? I love how you lot act so Christian but in fact all you are is divisive
And?
Sorry, traditional values or not, don’t hate other people because you don’t agree with them. HOW IS THAT CHRISTIAN?
So I can’t hate WHAT YOU DO, or, trying to do to my country ???
Isn’t it time for Mr. Eden, and indeed, the majority of our MLA’s, to retire?
Get them voted out! Oh wait….. Zzzzzz
Someone so mentally inflexible should never again occupy our Assembly. He and 80% of current LA should be officially sanctioned for the documented hate speech that has transpired just this year over several sessions. At a very minimum, a disgorgement of prorated LA appearance comp paid. Ideally, the governor should send a stronger message and suspend the assembly and call elections, as is his power, while the FCO concurrently amend several parts of the constitution, immediately and retroactively enact the now much-diluted version of the Standards in Public Life Law mandated by the FCO!!! There are no parliamentary privileges for hate speech, and I am still hopeful some kind of lasting historic and conciliatory example made. Time’s up.
Time for the dinosaurs to leave the LA
And Ms. Julie can ride a dinosaur out of the LA like she thinks cavemen did 8000 years ago…
That new facility in East End can’t come soon enough.
Go home if you dont like it here.thid is not your home. We have aloud to many of you here.in our cayman go home.damit.
Nah. See, Big Mac gave my hairy white gay ass status, so now I’m more Caymanian than you.
And I guess you’re going to use black slavery to justify your WHITE foreign ass, insulting our people. I wonder how many comments it took you to identified yourself?