Mottley: Same-sex marriage not on BLP’s agenda

The Barbados Labour Party has no plans to change local laws to allow for the introduction of same-sex marriage in Barbados, once elected as the Government of Barbados.

Opposition Leader Mia Mottley cleared the air on this issue on Monday night, as she delivered her reply to the 2017 Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposals in the House of Assembly.

“This notion that you want to foist on the (Barbados) Labour Party, something about same-sex marriages, is nonsense. I have said in this Chamber before that no 30 people in this country can get in here and deal with rights issues, whether it is the decriminalisation of marijuana, whether it is capital punishment or whether it is same-sex marriages,” Mottley remarked.

“There are people who support and are gays on that side and on this side and the Member for St. James South (Donville Inniss) made that clear and these are rights issues,” she contended.

“Our role is to facilitate governance in this country. But I can say to you without fear of contradiction, that this Barbados Labour Party as a government will never do it, because it is not the role of the government to do such,” the Opposition Leader stressed.

Stating also that the people in the Barbados Labour Party may not be perfect, she however indicated that she has a team of people she is proud of, people who are young, dynamic, as well as experienced, who are ready to “save and serve this country”. (RSM)