World

Top Barbados Court Strikes Down Laws Criminalizing Gay Sex

LONG OVERDUE

The ruling makes Barbados the third Caribbean nation to strike down long-standing laws criminalizing homosexuality.

GettyImages-541344656_1_ypmmx6
Atlantide Phototravel/Getty

A top court in Barbados has struck down long-standing laws that criminalize gay sex. Barbados joins Antigua and Barbuda and St. Kitts and Nevis in striking down the homophobic colonial-era laws, in a big win for activists who have worked to overturn them. “The dismantling of these laws is the first major step, but not the last step,” Téa Braun, chief executive of the London-based human rights organization Human Dignity Trust, said. As attorney general for the region, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley had called for abolishing the restrictive laws. It’s unclear if the government plans to appeal the ruling.

Read it at The Guardian

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.