Turnbull against same-sex marriage; Flax-Charles recommends referendum; Skelton plays it safe

Melvin Mitch Turnbull

By MERRICK ANDREWS, Online News Editor

(JTV News) — Second District Representative and Deputy Chairman of the Progressive Virgin Islands Movement (PVIM), Melvin ‘Mitch’ Turnbull, does not support same-sex marriage and has called for more discussions in the territory on abortion.

Turnbull made his views known by responding to a reporter’s question at a PVIM press conference on Friday.

“I will stand on the biblical principles for which I was raised and for which I believe in: that marriage is between — and should be between — a man a woman,” said Turnbull, who is also the Minister for Natural Resources and Labour under the Unity Government.

“That is my position on same-sex marriage. As it relates to abortion, that is a little bit deeper in terms of the question and because of the circumstances surrounding abortion,” he added.

It was Guavaberry Media representative, Cindy Rosan, who asked for the PVIM’s position on same-sex marriage and abortion, and sought a response from Turnbull, PVIM Chairman Ronnie W. Skelton, and newcomer to the party, Shereen Flax-Charles.

Before asking the question, Rosan told the trio that she has “two pressing questions the public is pushing”.

“One of the things that I continue to talk about is the belief system for each of the parties, right. We don’t necessarily know whether there is a belief system. So I am going to ask two things to kinda try to see where you come down on certain issues, all three of you. Where do you come down on abortion and where do you come down on same-sex marriage?” Rosan asked.

Skelton, who was the first to respond, did not agree or disagree.

“I am of the view that same-sex marriage is a subject to be interpreted by those who are more competent to do so, like the courts and the church,” he said.

After a pause, Skelton went on to say: “There is a bit of confusion that I am myself is not clear about so until that happens, now that you ask me the question in a public forum, I will try to make sure that I look at it in a more objective way and see what is being asked.”

Flax-Charles was the next to answer.

“She explained: “Abortion and same-sex marriages are very ticklish issues. We have the pros and the cons. And I would go out on a limb to say that perhaps in the case of same-sex marriage… referendum needs to happen. These people are human beings as well, and we have to understand that while you may believe something to be a certain way, we have to respect the beliefs of others and so let us as a community, a Virgin Islands community, decide the way to go.”

On the abortion issue, she said: “I believe it’s not legal here in the BVI. But I do believe that in cases where the mother’s life is in danger, in the case of rape that now becomes a pregnancy, these are things that we all need to look at.”

She added: “You cannot really, let’s say, come to a hard and fast. Some people might. But there are other issues that need to be brought into the picture. Because each individual situation, I believe, is different and so those are discussions that we really need to have with the general public in order to chart the way forward because everyone has their own opinion, and depending on their life experiences, they will go one side or the other. So it’s something for us to have a discussion on.”

Turnbull, who was next to respond, is the son of a preacher — Dr. Melvin Amel. Turnbull, the senior pastor of the Cane Garden Bay Baptist Church on Tortola — so it was no surprise when he made his position “clear” on same-sex marriage based on his “biblical principles”.

And Turnbull sai he is familiar with the topic because “it came up more than one time”.

He went on to explain: “I will stand on the biblical principles for which I was raised and for which I believe in that marriage is between, and should be between, a man a woman. That is my position on same-sex marriage. As it relates to abortion, that is a little bit more deep in terms of the question and because of the circumstances surrounding abortion.

“We had an opportunity last night to meet with some young persons that went into deep conversations about sexual abuse and domestic violence, so that is something that I believe … will cause me to not just have a simplistic approach to whether I agree with it or don’t agree with it, because the circumstances that we live in, especially throughout the world and throughout this community, after the storms of 2017 and again during the COVID time, persons have been going through some very difficult times and being molested and sexually abused and have become pregnant.

“So can I tell you that I believe that you should not have an abortion when you were raped by somebody who was 40 or 50 years older than you, or you were forced to live with in a situation because your mom or dad couldn’t afford the situation, or if you were just being loose and lascivious with your body? I can’t make that determination given all that pertains. The first one I am very clear on.”

Regarding abortion, Turnbull said more “discussion and conversation” is needed on the topic.

Barbados became the third Caribbean country, last year, to announce the repeal of such discriminatory legislation

According to a Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) press statement in December 2022, the case was filed by two Barbadian lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) advocates “with local organisation Equals Barbados providing community support, and the regional LGBT umbrella organisation, the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality, convening the process”.

UNAIDS said that earlier in 2022, courts in Antigua and Barbuda and St Kitts and Nevis also struck down, as unconstitutional, laws that criminalised gay men and other men who have sex with men.

It said there now remain six countries in the Caribbean that criminalize gay sex between consenting adults, all of them former British colonies. They are Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.