The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

HUMAN rights activist Erin Greene yesterday admitted that Bahamas Transgender Intersex United’s launch in April proved “problematic” for the government as it sought to get support for four constitutional changes, but insisted that the LGBT community should not be blamed for the resounding failure of the equality referendum.

If blame is to be cast, Ms Greene told The Tribune, Bahamians needed to consider the poorly constructed referendum process and the Christie administration’s unwillingness to explore all issues involved with equality.

With the failure of last week’s gender quality referendum, many have argued that it flopped for various reasons, among them fear of a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) agenda coupled with that community’s public positions on how the changes in the Constitution could affect them.

Many Bahamians believed the fourth Constitutional Amendment Bill would have opened the door to same-sex marriages. It was a point of contention that was strongly rejected by the government and proponents of the referendum. That bill sought to end discrimination based on sex, which was described as being male or female.

“I think it is disingenuous and intellectually dishonest to say the LGBTI or the transgender community caused the referendum to fail,” Ms Greene said in an interview yesterday.

“If we do need to cast blame then we should consider that a poorly constructed process, an unwillingness to explore all of the issues involved and the desire to achieve equality between men and women created an environment in which many people felt that they were justified in saying the ends justified the means.

“There was the unwillingness to acknowledge the extent to which the process and the laws involved impacted the LGBTI community and created an environment to which people are more likely to place blame on the LGBTI community.”

She continued: “The timing of BTIU’s launch of the organisation and press conference was problematic for the narrative created by the YES Bahamas campaign and by the Constitutional Commission.

“But the visibility of trans people in a process and in an exercise that impacts the lives of trans people could not be the reason why the referendum failed.”

She maintained that transgender and intersex Bahamians are citizens of the Bahamas and whether the referendum questions directly impacted them or not, they have a right and obligation to participate in national, political and legal exercises.

Ms Greene further called on all political, religious and social leaders to measure their speech to consider carefully the impact of their words and actions, adding that they must ensure at all times that they act in a manner that promotes the common good, democracy and humanity.

“I would like to speak to political leaders and politicians as we enter the election season to remember that LGBTI (persons) are citizens and our community is not a commodity that they can use to gain political credit or popularity. We are too small of a country to marginalise any citizen or group of citizens.”

Amid contentious public debate in the months leading up to the June 7 referendum, members of the LGBT community went public with their views, sparking a backlash.

In April, BTIU launched its multi-level equality campaign, “Bahamian Trans Lives Matter”, which sought to secure equal rights for transgender Bahamians.

During a press conference at the Hilton, BTIU representatives called on the Christie administration to ensure that the fundamental rights of all genders of Bahamians – male, female and transgender – are protected.

However, despite the group insisting it was not trying to shift the focus of the gender equality referendum, it was criticised for doing just that.

The group called for equal access to healthcare, education and employment without discrimination.

Lead spokesperson for the group, Alexus D’Marco affirmed that members of BTIU, and to a greater extent those in the LBGT community, are forced to live in unwarranted circumstances due to the confines of socially accepted behaviours in The Bahamas.

According to the self-proclaimed “first lady” of the LGBT community, scores of transgender and intersex men and women are being discriminated against on their jobs, in schools and in other social groupings because of this “well-endorsed” stigma.

There are more than 50 transgender males, females and youth living in the Bahamas, according to Ms D’Marco.