What began as an anti-gay march in Barbados on Saturday ended up in respectful dialogue with LGBT community members and prayers for the community’s success. Continue reading
Author Archives: Maurice Tomlinson
Thriving Montego Bay Pride boosts LGBT+ acceptance
As Montego Bay Pride has grown in ambition, in attendance, and in international support, it has remained violence-free while it buoys increasing numbers of LGBT+ Jamaicans. Continue reading
LGBT Jamaicans paint their way closer to local police
“LGBT community members in Jamaica refuse to be victims. We are actively engaged in our own liberation,” says activist Maurice Tomlinson. This includes building — or painting — a bridge to often-homophobic local police. Continue reading
October gathering: How churches can end anti-LGBT laws
An international conference planned for Oct. 12-13 in Jamaica will focus on how churches have helped to impose anti-LGBT laws in the past and how they can help to eliminate them in the future. Continue reading
A reason for Montego Bay Pride: Murder of trans youth
Dwayne Jones was a young trans youth living in my hometown of Montego Bay, Jamaica. “Mo. Bay,” as locals affectionately call it, is known as the “friendly city.” This undisputed tourism capital of the English-speaking Caribbean is very popular with overseas visitors. But this tourist paradise hides a dark secret that is carefully hidden from … Continue reading
When a Pentecostal mom attends her gay son’s church
Emotions ran high when the mother of Jamaican-Canadian LGBTI rights activist Maurice Tomlinson took one Sunday off from her homophobic Pentecostal church to attend an Anglican church with her gay son. Continue reading
Here’s why LGBTQI refugees need Canada’s continued support
Canada has a crucial role to play in the effort to assure full recognition of the human rights of LGBTQI people, in particular for LGBTQI refugees, Jamaican-Canadian activist attorney Maurice Tomlinson told Canadian legislators this week. Continue reading
Pushing for progress in anti-gay Jamaica without a boycott
Jamaican/Canadian lawyer and LGBT rights activist Maurice Tomlinson addresses the question of whether tourists should boycott Jamaica in hopes of persuading that country to recognize the human rights of its LGBT citizens. Continue reading
Jamaican cable TV blocks ‘When We Rise’ LGBT docudrama
One of Jamaica’s largest cable TV operators has blocked transmissions of the American LGBT rights historical drama “When We Rise.” Continue reading
Anglican leaders oppose anti-gay laws; let’s repeal them
A year ago something remarkable happened in the Global Anglican Communion (GAC), but most persons missed it, even senior Anglican clergy. This miraculous event occurred on Jan. 15, 2016, when the Primates representing all the Provinces in the 80 million+ denomination agreed, for the first time, that criminalizing same-gender intimacy is wrong. Continue reading
