Several evangelical church leaders are calling on Government not to change the country’s Sexual Offences Act, despite a human rights challenge to those laws filed by trans woman Alexa Hoffmann, and two other Barbadians, a lesbian and a gay man.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which reviewed the issue in the last year, has given Barbados three months to respond to the challenge.

Evangelical leader and former senator, Pastor David Durant, declared today that the religious community is strongly opposed to any change to the law. He said religious leaders are to meet in the coming days to formulate an official response and present a united front on the issue.

He told Barbados TODAY: “Since the news broke, I have been receiving calls from pastors from across Barbados’ religious landscape and we are going to have a meeting so that we can make a united front and statement. So, the entire church body is making preparation to make a stand.”

Acknowledging that sexuality was about choice, Durant contended that the church has a duty to steer persons towards the “right one”. He suggested that current anti-gay laws are differentiating markers between right and wrong. Read more via Barbados Today