MINISTER of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell in the House of Assembly.

FOX Hill MP Fred Mitchell declared yesterday that the country was not a theocracy as he castigated religious leaders for their role in the failure of the gender equality referendum.

Notwithstanding the vote’s “disappointing” outcome, Mr. Mitchell expressed concern over the lingering hate sparked by debate over the constitutional amendments.

Pointing to recent attacks in the United States and the United Kingdom, he underscored the link between hate speech and destructive behaviour among mentally ill and ignorant people.

He reiterated his call for clergymen to publicly separate themselves from violence and hate during his contribution to the 2016/2017 budget debate.

“I am very disappointed in the results,” he said, “in the way our people allowed phobias to complicate the issue. The inequalities on the transmission of citizenship are astonishing, and as a country, we are not in good company in this regard when compared to other countries around the world.

“I fear that we as a country and a people still may not have matured enough to make decisions in isolation for the betterment of the country, to reduce discrimination in The Bahamas.”

“This was a matter of citizenship, nothing else,” he said.

The minister of foreign affairs and immigration announced that he will dedicate his 2017 election campaign to the fight for women’s rights.

The constitutional referendum’s amendments were overwhelmingly rejected by Bahamians on June 7, with ‘no’ votes getting more than double the number of ‘yes’ votes in most constituencies.

“The government was blamed for missteps in the process,” Mr. Mitchell said.

“I reject that. There can be no remedy for deceit other than truth. The truth was plain to see but instead of the work of God being done, it appears the work of the devil has for the moment succeeded.”

He added: “While they crow from the rafters from stopping some shadowy hidden agenda, the people who have suffered are women and children, and the people of the Bahamas. They have set us back a generation.”

“The extent of the deceit goes further than the errant clergymen,” he said.

“Here was Bran McCartney who claims that he voted because Dame Joan Sawyer said so. With respect, everyone who is in the know, knows that Dame Joan Sawyer has been overturned by the Privy Council more times than the garbage can outside my yard.”

He was referring to Democratic National Alliance Leader Branville McCartney who said he voted “no” to all four questions on the ballot after being swayed by comments from the former Court of Appeal president.

Yesterday, East Grand Bahama MP K. Peter Turnquest challenged that it was misleading to paint opponents of the referendum as sexist or hateful.

“I think it’s unfair to characterise them as teaching hate,” Mr. Turnquest said. “I believe they had some specific concerns and they raised them, I think the Bahamian people made a decision. I think it’s wrong to come to this place (and prescribe) a hate motive to them rather than a philosophical one.”

However, Mr. Mitchell countered that the referendum’s purpose was indisputable.

“What in my respectful view happened in the Bahamas is that a minority was demonised and dehumanised in this country to frighten people into voting against the rights of women,” he said. “I say again, that is not something to be proud about because the only ones who will suffer are women and their spouses, their children and men and their spouses.”

Mr. Mitchell said: “The bills were simply about giving men and women the same rights in the Constitution.”

By Ava Turnquest, Tribune Chief Reporter

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