GLOBAL VOICES: It Is Not Only LGBT Jamaicans Who Welcome the Government’s Ban of Controversial U.S. Preacher
Human rights activists, online campaigners — and many other Jamaicans — were pleased with the government’s recent decision to deny entry to American fundamentalist pastor, Steven Anderson. While concerns regarding free speech linger, it was not just the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) lobby that expressed satisfaction at the decision to keep out Anderson, who has a reputation for extreme homophobia, and preaches a volatile stance against homosexuality.
News of the ban (Jamaica is the fifth country to have done so) broke via the change.org website on January 29, 2018. The petition to deny Anderson entry to the island, which was started by a Jamaican gay rights activist, had garnered 38,682 signatures by that date.
The petition website posted a video from Anderson, informing viewers that during a layover in the United States on his way to Jamaica, he learned that he would not be allowed to enter the country.
In the video, Anderson expressed surprise, as he was under the impression that Jamaica was “the most homophobic country in the world” and that Jamaicans would therefore welcome him. “Obviously this was an outside influence,” he said, inferring that the Jamaican government was pressured to make the decision, against the wishes of its people.
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