NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Bahamas Christian Council said last night that while it supports the rights of each Bahamian to determine their own sexual preference, it does not believe that foreign governments, who are guests in The Bahamas, should “leverage their influence” to promote a lifestyle that contravenes with the “ideology of our country”.
“The Bahamas is a sovereign democratic nation that determines its own ideals, norms and laws,” read a statement from the Bahamas Christian Council.
“We respect the right of each nation to promote their beliefs in their own countries.
“We see the position of the United States Embassy as over-reaching and insensitive to the moral and ideological position of this country regarding the lifestyle of homosexuality.
“The Bahamas believes in the traditional family structure of one man and one woman.
“Hence, the decision to hoist and fly the Pride flag in a country whose moral and Judeo-Christian position is not only evident but prominent, is deeply concerning and could easily be perceived offensive to many of our citizens.”
The US Embassy in Nassau raised the rainbow Pride Flag below the American flag on Marlborough Street and at its Chief of Mission residence off Sanford Drive to honor the rights of the LGBTQI+ community in The Bahamas and around the world.
June is celebrated as Pride Month in the US.
In a statement of its website, the US Embassy in Nassau said the United States it is committed to pursuing equity for all and in flying the Pride flag this month, it hoped to highlight the contributions of LGBTQI+ people around the world and “open a space for honest conversations about the unique challenges they face”.
It noted this mission was a worldwide effort by the Biden administration and every US mission has been invited to fly the Pride flag or light up their embassies with rainbow colors this month.
The US Embassy wrote: “The struggle to end violence, discrimination and stigma against LGBTQI+ persons is a global challenge, and one that remains central to our commitment to promote human rights, democracy and fundamental freedoms for all individuals.”
Yesterday, the Christian Council said it does not support the mistreatment of citizens regardless of their sexual or other orientation.
But it said to say nothing without challenge would open the door for the US and other foreign nations to influence The Bahamas’ social and political structures by “way of diplomatic bullying”.
“We believe that all foreign diplomats should appreciate how offensive it is to attempt to impose their ideology unto other nations as they will never stand for us to do the same in their country,” the council’s statement read.
“This is a matter of respect and a diplomatic assault upon the consciousness of our Bahamian society.
“We hope the US embassy would reconsider their bullish agenda of forcing other nations to accept their social experiments of which they themselves are not united and use their force and might on noble missions such as solving world hunger.”
Loading ...
