Rainbow Alliance of The Bahamas
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The Rainbow Alliance of The Bahamas was a support and advocacy group for persons in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.


History

The group was established in May 1999 during a social event hosted by members of other
LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...
groups. The members of those groups, BGLAD (Bahamian Gays and Lesbians Against Discrimination) and Hope TEA (Hope Through Education and Awareness), decided it would be better to pool their resources together and create one national
gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , ...
organization. They named it “The Rainbow Alliance of The Bahamas.” At that time RAB was essentially a support group, organizing LGBT socials and the annual, low-key
gay pride LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to s ...
event in The Bahamas. However, in 2004 when Bishop Sam Greene threatened to blow up parliament if the government had followed Canada and legalized
gay marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constitutin ...
in The Bahamas, group members felt the need to stand up against him and other forms of
bigotry Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, rel ...
and
discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of Racial discrimination, r ...
in the country. The activist arm of the group placed it in the public spotlight between 2004 and 2008. The group eventually disbanded in 2008 due to a lack of resources.


Legal fight

There is no legislation in The Bahamas that addresses basic
human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
concerns of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) people. In fact, discrimination can be found in existing laws on same-sex relationships. One example is the law regarding the
age of consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is unable to legally cla ...
. Homosexual relations between consenting adults have been legal in The Bahamas since May 1991, but the age of consent is two years higher than that for heterosexuals – 18 vs. 16. Adult heterosexual men can legally engage in sexual activity with 16-year-old girls, though these teens are considered minors. Homosexual men however, have been charged before the courts for having consensual sex with 16- and 17-year-old males. LGBT Bahamians are also subject to discrimination in employment. The Employment Bill of 2001, which had a clause barring discrimination in the workplace based on
sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
, was passed with that clause removed. The law was amended again in 2002, still without protecting LGBT Bahamians. In addition to protesting these laws, RAB spoke out strongly against its lack of inclusion in the former government's Constitutional Reform Commission. The commission, which included outspoken
anti-gay The following outline offers an overview and guide to LGBT topics. Sexuality * Human sexuality ** Sexual diversity ** Gendered sexuality *** Human male sexuality *** Human female sexuality *** Transgender sexuality * Sexual attraction ** An ...
Bishop Sam Greene, had been reviewing the country's unamended 1973 constitution between 2003 and 2006. It failed to consider a person's sexual orientation as an attribute deserving of protection from discrimination in a preliminary report it presented to the Cabinet on March 21, 2006.


See also

* LGBT rights in the Bahamas *
List of LGBT rights organisations This is a list of LGBT rights organizations around the world. For social and support groups or organizations affiliated with mainstream religious organizations, please see '' List of LGBT-related organizations and conferences''. For organization ...


External links

Bahamas' current LGBT group:
Bahamas LGBT Equality Advocates
LGBT political advocacy groups in the Bahamas 1999 establishments in the Bahamas {{Bahamas-stub