Three years ago, Time Magazine named Jamaica “The Most Homophobic Place on Earth,” and since that time the island has not seen much in the way of progress.

An organization called Boycott Jamaica has taken the initiative, asking all gays and friends of the community to avoid the nation “until the Jamaican government takes action to end the country’s virulently homophobic climate and draconian laws that persecute homosexuals.”In February, The New York Times published a story calling Jamaica a “dire place for gays,” telling the story of 5 gay men who were having an at-home dinner party when the front door was kicked in and they were beaten savagely by 15-20 men with machetes.
This type of attack has become too commonplace on the island, which still outlaws homosexuality under the crime “buggery.” Even funerals have proven to be unsafe territory if the deceased is a homosexual, as just last year a church was attacked by a mob armed with bottles and rocks. No one involved in that incident was even prosecuted. According to the Times article, while the Jamaican public defender condemned the church attack, “he also reinforced the common view that if only gays would be less flamboyant, there would be less violence against them.” This being the state of things on the island, “Jamaica’s gays socialize at underground nightclubs and worship at secret church services that move around the island.” Boycott Jamaica has made two demands of the nation, the first being a public commitment to end gay bashing and improve the island’s human rights situation, and the second being a statement from the Prime Minister condemning violence against the LGBT community and an expression of regret for past violence. Until these two demands are met, the organization claims its official boycott is in effect.The boycott is focused on the three largest sources of Jamaica’s national income – sale of Myers’s Rum, sale of Red Stripe beer, and money made from the cruise industry. New York’s Stonewall Inn is planned a “rum dump” on Wednesday evening, showing its support of the boycott against Jamaica by dumping Red Stripe and Myers’s Rum down the sewer. The bar had this to say in its statement: “We ask all people of all walks of life to send a clear message to the Jamaican people and their government, that as long as they continue to allow and condone violence and hatred toward the Gay community, we will neither buy their products nor support their tourist trade. To do so is to tacitly support the current climate of oppression.”