More than 1,000 demonstrators
protesting a proposal in Haiti to legalize gay marriage threatened to
burn down parliament if its members make such unions legal in the
Caribbean nation.
The protest, which took place Friday in
the streets of Port-Au-Prince, was organized by several religious
groups, from Protestant to Muslim. The demonstrators held up
anti-gay signs – one read “Smooth Blade Condemns All Gay” –
and chanted songs, including one in which they threatened to burn
down parliament if the law is approved.
A Haitian gay rights group recently
announced plans to submit a marriage equality bill before parliament.
“I believe in God, and God condemns
homosexuality,” protester Eddy Jean-Pierre told the AP. “Haiti
is not going to accept this, and God will punish us further if we
allow this law to pass.”
The Haitian Coalition of Religious and
Moral Organizations was among the groups behind the protest. Its
leaders said three weeks ago that they opposed passage of marriage
equality laws in other countries.