‘No to same sex marriages’

Secretary general of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) Sat Maharaj said while he respects the court’s ruling on the buggery law, he will not tolerate same-sex marriages.

And Muslim cleric Mushtaq Sulaimani accused Justice Devindra Rampersad, who ruled that this country’s buggery laws were unconstitutional, of going against the spirit of the Constitution.

In a statement, Maharaj said he respected the freedom of people to conduct their lives in a manner that suits them. In fact, he said, the SDMS recognised the “the changing tide of public support for homosexuals to engage with each other as they please.” Maharaj said the SDMS commended the efforts of the judge, and respected his decision, but made it abudantly clear there is no room for debate on same-sex marriages.

In fact, the SDMS’ secretary general said, the Hindu scriptures such as the Gita and Mahabharat are opposed to homosexuality. He said the SDMS joined as a party to gay rights activist Jason Jones’ constitutional challenge, because it wanted “to have a say on what the law should be in Trinidad and Tobago”.

Sulaimani, Imam of the ASJA mosque, Mucurapo Street, San Fernando, condemned the judge outright for what he said was his lack of appreciation for the framers of the TT Constitution.

“I’m not pleased and the Muslim community is not pleased. The source of law is based on moral codes of conduct.

“We have seen in the past how the people of Lot were destroyed.

“This judgment may have been in sync with the constitutional rights of people, but it violates the law of nature and the purpose of why man was created. Which should you obey? Man make constitution; God created us how he wants us to be.”