Page 8 - My Scrapbook project 2 Citizenship

According to him, the Jamaican Government has until November 19 to respond to a challenge to
the country’s constitutional ban on the legal recognition of any form of same-sex unions,

including marriage.

The IACHR has held that the American Convention on Human Rights, to which Jamaica is a
signatory, guarantees the right to same-sex marriage.

In a media release on Monday, Tomlinson, who married Captain the Reverend Thomas Decker, a

chaplain in the Canadian Armed Forces in 2011, said he must return to care for his ageing and ill
parents.

However, Tomlinson’s husband would not be able to live and work freely in Jamaica because the

Constitution prevents him from acquiring citizenship through marriage, as this is only available
to heterosexual couples.

Tomlinson is the founder and development coordinator for Montego Bay Pride, which was

barred from using the Montego Bay Cultural Centre after Mayor Davis and former mayor,
Charles Sinclair, objected to a series of Pride events planned for the facility. These included a

public forum on whether Jamaica is ready for same-sex marriage.

Tomlinson said: “Like every other human being, my family is very important to me. I do not
want to choose between caring for my parents in Jamaica or staying with my husband in Canada.

I love and depend on my husband and he is willing to join me in Jamaica while I look after my
parents, but he must be able to freely come and go and seek employment on the island in order to

do so. This ban is hurting me, my family, and many other Jamaicans who are in same-sex
relationships or depend on people who are in such relationships.”

Tomlinson is being represented in this petition by Dr Emir Crowne.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com