On one side of courtroom POS 09 sat a small group of pastors dressed in suits and expressions that were just as stiff. On the other were supporters of sexual and gender minorities’ rights, at least one of them sporting a T-shirt that declared details of the “homosexual agenda” in Trinidad and Tobago: “1. Buy Crix [a popular local cracker] 2. Spend time with family 3. Fight for equality”.

On April 12, 2018, Justice Devindra Rampersad brought the twin island republic's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community that much closer to achieving item number three when he delivered his decision in the case of Jason Jones vs. the Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago, ruling that Sections 13 and 16 of the country's Sexual Offences Act Chapter 11:28, which criminalise anal sex between consenting adults, are “unconstitutional”.

In his eloquent summary of the judgement, Justice Rampersad explained:

At this point, the Court feels compelled to state in conclusion that it is unfortunate when society in any way values a person or gives a person their identity based on their race, colour, gender, age or sexual orientation.
That is not their identity.
That is not their soul.
That is not the sum total of their value to society or their value to themselves.

Comparing the law with those that allowed apartheid and the Holocaust to exist, he added:

This conclusion is not an assessment of denial of the religious beliefs of anyone. This court is not qualified to do so. However, this conclusion is a recognition that the beliefs of some, by definition, [are] not the belief of ALL, and in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, ALL are protected, and are entitled to be protected, under the Constitution.

Soon after the ruling, the government announced that it would appeal. As expected, the public response to his ruling has divided society right down the middle, mirroring the physical divisions that existed in court. Read more via Global Voices