Britain Jan. 5 forced legalization of gay sex in five of its Caribbean territories after the islands’ parliaments refused to do so for nearly two years.
The order from the British Privy Council decriminalized gay sex between consenting adults in Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Britain said the islands’ sodomy bans violated international human-rights agreements to which the U.K. is a signatory.
Some religious leaders on the islands denounced London’s move.
“This is totally unacceptable to the minds of the Christian community here,” said Nicholas Sykes, chief pastor of the Cayman Islands Church of England.