By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

RELIGIOUS protesters and LGBTQI+ advocates faced off in a tense standoff on Saturday that laid bare the country’s deep divisions over faith, sexuality, and human rights.

On one side of University Drive, a small group of church leaders and congregants waved banners and declared that “The Bahamas belongs to God.” On the other, LGBTQI+ advocates and allies gathered for Pride Bahamas’ second annual Human Rights March, part of the organisation’s sixth anniversary celebrations under the theme “Be Bold, Be You, Live With Pride.”

The two demonstrations — one praying and preaching, the other calling for equality and visibility — unfolded within metres of each other outside the University of The Bahamas.

The religious protesters, led by Prophetess Patrice Smith and Pastor Carol Moss, arrived early and marched along the road, denouncing what they described as an assault on Christian values. They only attracted about 15 people, but Ms Smith said numbers were irrelevant.

“Let me just reiterate, we are not into the numbers,” she said. “The Word of God says wherever two or three are gathered and the Word of God said that Jesus sent them out two by two. The number two is a biblical number, meaning witness, so to witness anything for God, you only need two persons, and so we are here.”

Ms Smith said their goal was to “decree and declare” God’s authority over the country, insisting that LGBTQI+ people in The Bahamas already enjoy human rights. She said their movement was not about equality but about advancing civil unions and social acceptance, a cause she described as “demonic” and contrary to God’s law.

“We’re here as the church, as the body of Christ, representing God,” she said. “We’re here to decree and declare that the Bahamas belongs to God.”

Pastor Moss said the protest was part of a spiritual battle to defend the country’s “gates” against foreign influences. She pointed to visits by international figures, including US Vice President Kamala Harris, as evidence of outside pressure on local culture.

“We refuse to allow a curse to come to this Bahamas,” she said. “We refuse to allow that to happen here as the gatekeepers of this country and so the church will stand.”

Across the road, Pride Bahamas’ Human Rights March was promoted as a broader call for equality beyond LGBTQI+ issues, highlighting discrimination against women, migrants, and the poor. The event was held in collaboration with the British High Commission.

Committee member McTair Farrington said the march was not a Pride parade but a demonstration of solidarity for marginalised groups. He said the church protesters had a right to their beliefs but questioned their focus.

“They’re bringing light to our situation,” he said. “I do feel that this effort or this energy could have been used when the deacon came out who said that he was under the influence, and that’s why he touched children. They could have done maybe a campaign or a march to say, ‘protect the kids in our churches,’ rather than adding light to something that they said they don’t want to see the light of day.”

Although the turnout for the human rights march was modest, organisers said visibility itself was an act of courage in a country where coming out can carry heavy consequences.

“There are some people that cannot march due to certain circumstances,” Mr Farrington said. “They can’t come out because they can’t be visible, because they can either be kicked out or condemned. And this is one of the reasons why we have Pride, to educate people on the situations that happen in the community itself.”

At the gathering point, a heated but mostly civil debate broke out between some church members and LGBTQI+ advocates. Both sides shared personal testimonies and scripture, occasionally finding common ground in love for family, even as they disagreed on theology.

Ms Smith told the crowd she has a lesbian daughter and has dealt with her own same-sex attraction before, she said, finding “deliverance through Jesus Christ.”

“Can I tell you that I have a daughter who is a lesbian? Can I tell you that I love her with all of my heart?” she said. “Every Sunday we have family dinner. There has never been a Sunday that I’ve asked her female friend to leave my home. I love her. I hug her. I kiss her. I invite her to church. She’s the lover of my daughter, but because I have God’s love in me, I refuse.”

On the opposite side, Pride Bahamas co-organiser Alexis DeMarco described the realities facing LGBTQI+ youth rejected by their families, including homelessness, unemployment, and social isolation. She recalled a moment during Hurricane Dorian when two women were denied entry to a shelter because of their appearance.

“When parents cannot accept their children being LGBTI, they throw them to the streets,” she said. “We are marching for those children and those young adults that are being thrown out by their parents when they find out that they’re LGBTI. We pick them up, we have to feed them, clothe them, sometimes put them through social services.”