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Not a gay time - Outrage's leader gets death threats

A BOUNTY HAS reportedly been taken out on the life of Peter Tatchell, one of the most vocal spokespersons leading the fight against eight dancehall artistes.

According to reports in England, Jamaican Yardies have threatened to kill him because of his presistent fight to get the stage shows of certain dancehall acts cancelled.

Tatchell accuses Beenie Man, Buju Banton, Vybz Kartel, Bounty Killer, Elephant Man, Capleton, Sizzla and TOK of inciting violence against gays with their music and has fought tirelessly to get their foreign shows cancelled. He argues that if any singer had done songs about killing Jews or Blacks they would be treated harshly, so dancehall acts should be criticized for doing the same thing about gays.

"I like reggae singers like Marley and Sean Paul. Marley's message was one of love and social justice. But dancehall artistes have dragged reggae music into a cesspit of homophobia and misogyny," he is quoted as saying.

Hit man

The reports of his death threat also surfaced in the English press on the weekend. On Sunday, the Sunday Times reported that English police believed a hitman from Jamaica was sent to England to kill Tatchell.

According to the Times story, police in England have offered him special protection because he has received at least 20 death threats recently. He has reportedly been given a special 999 code on his phone to call the police if he needs any help.

The English Press Bureau has confirmed the death threat report, but representatives told THE STAR that they could not give any information on the case. The spokesperson stated however that the Racial and Violence Task Force is investigating the threats.

"They are monitoring the situation right now because some new threats were sent to the Outrage! website just today," the spokesperson reported. Asked about the possibility of charges being slapped on anyone, he said it was too early to say.

Tatchell is one of the founding members of the gay advocacy group Outrage! He has protested about discrimination for years, and more recently has taken on dancehall music. His protests have resulted in the cancellation of several stage shows, the more recent being a concert by Buju Banton in Manchester. He has argued that the eight dancehall artistes mentioned earlier should apologize for their lyrics before his group calls off the present camapign.