Submission 13

Sent: Sunday, November 27, 2022
To: ConstitutionalReform
Subject: Re: a submission for your kind attention

Dear Commissioners,

I must first acknowledge the difficulty of your task.
I note that 2 areas have dominated the public discussion -I believe I can explain the reason for this.

Firstly, the input from devoutly religious people (those who have been respectful). Once the constitution has a statement “founded upon principles that acknowledge the supremacy of God (or Creator)” then a devoutly religious individual would expect that all that follows aligns with the teachings of God/Creator. Religion/faith is not about words on a page- it is a way of life. If what follows the statement underlined above is just secular and divergent from religious teachings, then God/Creator is not supreme- that false statement ought to be omitted.

Beginning the televised Town Hall style sessions with a prayer further adds to the contradiction and creates a false expectation amongst those who proclaim the word of the Lord. Secondly, input from LGBTQ Barbadians

The experience of some persons who are LGBTQ (like the experience of some other subsets of individuals) is one of having faced ridicule and suboptimal acceptance at some times in their lives. Their implied highlight in the Barbados Constitution under the statement “sex/gender/sexual orientation” is thus an emotional issue. It is seen as a surrogate for "acceptance" “fitting in” “belonging” when it is none of those things. It is words on a page affirming their equal rights, the same rights already had by virtue of being human.

Addendum-:

• The feeling of “fitting in” for most of humanity starts with “self-acceptance”. If someone has self-doubt because they are gay, or childless, or too short, too fat- it invites unhappiness, and an exaggerated feeling of oppression beyond the reality. The Constitution cannot focus on adjusting language in an attempt to bring comfort to everyone who feels stigmatized. (And remember- a feeling is not a fact). Imagine adding a sentence “All Barbadians are born free and equal regardless of height, body mass index, or childless state”. I would advocate for simply asserting the rights of the human being without detailing all the permutations.

• I see a problem with labelling children as LGBQT- when they are not of legal age and maturity for sexual activity. I can’t imagine a child who is not considered mature enough to drink alcohol, has agency to decide that they are bisexual. It does not make sense to me.