Hi all, I am Harold Hopkinson. I am the person that Nazima nicely spoke about. I am the founder and owner of Secure Innovations & Concepts Inc. – the company that won the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Presidential Medal in 2022. Our major clientele are the 9 scheduled major airlines for whom we provide Aviation Security at the CJIA, at the Euguene F Corriea International Airport. My company provides residential and office security for ExxonMobil since 2014.
For those who do not know, my nickname is Topgun, but as my son Denzel said in his speech at my 60th Birthday a decade ago, the top is gone! FYI, Topgun the movie came out in 1986. I was called that in 1982. Due to the fact, I was described by the press as a shooting machine, in those days I won about 95% of the hand-gun competitions held here up to around 2003. I have 7 children: six boys and one girl. The eldest, Michael, turned fifty, two weeks ago, yes, I started young.
When training my staff, I often said that this earth we live in, will ultimately destroyed by politics, religion, sex and prejudices. I’ve always believed that people should work for what they want, live life on their own terms, and be judged by what they do – not by who they love or who they are. These lessons guided me through many challenges, from building my businesses to raising my seven children, and they guide me still.
I supported my son Quincy when he came out to me in 1998. He was 20 years old and with his father’s acceptance, my son was able to shine and rise, even thought he had to leave Guyana in 2005 to be accepted by the world, he flourished for he knew his father accepted him and that, to him was the first manifestation of true love, and he was able to use that as the tool against the world that did not accept him. Today, Quincy is a Director at the University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey – which is the state-run, safety-net trauma centre and training hospital for Rutgers University – supporting 160,000 plus ER visits per year, with about 3750 employees. He got married on December 31, 2019, to his partner Olivier Pierre Louis. Olivier is the CEO of Flohand (you can see wonderful furniture at Flohan.com) which specializes in high-end luxury furniture and home décor. Imagine selling $16,000 table lamps and running out of stock. I now have another grandchild, Carlos, who they adopted.
As a father, I want all of my children to have an equal opportunity to work hard and build a good life for themselves and their families. As a business owner, I also know that success comes from building communities and affiliations where everyone feels welcome and can contribute, NOT pushing people away due to their sexual orientation.
It’s as easy as the proverbial rule – treat others, the way you want to be treated – and I don’t think anyone should be treated differently because of who they are or who they love.
That’s why today, I am speaking here in support of Guyana Together and their work to end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Guyana. For too long, outdated laws have singled out people for who they love or how they identify. That’s not fairness, and it’s not how I govern my life, my family or my company. At Secure Innovations and Concepts Inc., I take pride in encouraging the values of fairness and equal opportunity. That has not only helped us to be very successful with the diverse base of customers we serve. It is the only way to build and retain the best possible team of employees. If someone is good at what they say, then they deserve the same chance as anyone else.
We all know Guyana is changing at a phenomenal pace. Our economy is growing, business is booming, and our country is opening its doors to the world. For us to compete and succeed, we as a nation need every capable person contributing to our growth – including our LGBT citizens. As a parent I know the pain of having a child move abroad because he feels that more opportunities may be available elsewhere. Discrimination doesn’t just hurt people, it hurts families and it hurts our country’s economy. There are statistics that show, the brain drain and talent that is lost, is hurting us as a developing country.
As a Guyanese who now, has businesses both in Guyana and the US, I know that the trend is clear: inclusive societies and companies thrive. Investors prefer markets where workers are respected and feel safe. Our neighbours, have eliminated laws criminalising same-sex intimacy – including the majority of CARICOM countries and every other country on our South American continent – this change has seen higher labour productivity and increased tourism. At ACGuns.com, yes I am in the business of manufacturing firearms in Sunrise, Florida. Our Production Manager, Lisette Gomez, is married to a RN. They have a wonderful baby girl.
I was never afraid of much, except the dentist. But now, I have the best in the world – Dr. Pravesh Harry. Imagine me falling asleep, doing a root canal twice? I am not a bit apprehensive to be speaking here today. We must to take a stand. But the truth is that worldwide support is on the side of the LGBT community. The majority of people in Guyana want to see an end to the discriminatory laws that criminalise intimacy between gay men. Guyana must repeal those laws and send a clear message: that every citizen’s privacy is valued, respected, and all are free to live with dignity.
Support and respect for our LGBT neighbours and citizens is not about politics. It’s about fairness, opportunity, and practical sense. For Guyana to compete globally, attract investment, and retain our talent, we must continue to develop our human capital. Respecting human rights is not only the right thing to do, it’s also good for business.
Same-sex sexual activity is prohibited under the Criminal Law (Offences) Act 1893 – 132 years ago – which criminalises these acts with crude obnoxious names such as ‘buggery’ and ‘gross indecency.’ This criminalisation carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. What is unbelievable, it is that only men are criminalised under this archaic law. Transgender citizens were previously criminalized in Guyana under a ‘cross-dressing’ law which was actively enforced. However, this law was ruled unconstitutional in 2018.
This law was inherited from the British during the colonial period, in which the English criminal law was imposed and accepted. Guyana retained this law after Independence in 1966 and continues to criminalise same-sex sexual activity from the colonial-era 1893 statute today.
Criminalisation is in clear breach of international human rights law. LGBT people have increasingly been recognised as a protected unit, under non-discrimination provisions. Criminalisation not only violates the right to non-discrimination of LGBT people, but other fundamental rights such as the rights to privacy, legal recognition, humane treatment, expression, association, and assembly, among many others.
From around the world, a number of international human rights bodies have issued rulings recognising that the criminalisation of same-sex sexual activity violates the rights of LGBT persons. This includes:
- the European Court of Human Rights (Dudgeon v United Kingdom, 1981),
- the UN Human Rights Committee (Toonen v Australia, 1994),
- the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Henry and Edwards v Jamaica, 2019),
- and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Flamer-Caldera v Sri Lanka, 2022)
Even though there is no evidence of the law being enforced here in Gyana in recent years, reports however suggest that the law is sometimes used by corrupt, bigoted and some homophobic police to intimidate men perceived to be gay. Even some employers are guilty of this human rights abuse. Regardless of enforcement, the mere existence of this provision on the law books is in itself a violation of human rights and encourages further acts of discrimination. There have been reports of discrimination and violence being committed against LGBT people in recent years, including murder, assault, harassment, and denial of basic rights and services.
In closing, I’ve faced my own obstacles in my life – from physical injuries to slight career setbacks. I have built my business from the ground up. I know the value of fighting for your place in this somewhat unkind world. I want a Guyana – a One Guyana – where all can feel free and be welcome and to build to build a life without fear of being persecuted for being with who one wants and love. That’s the Guyana I believe in and the future I know we can achieve by supporting our brothers and sisters.
We in Guyana know Christmas is awesome. But we will be leaving for Florida, where I am Vice President for Research and Marketing, for Akai Custom Guns in Sunrise, Florida, then drop our bags home in Plantation, pick up our winter gear to spend Christmas in New Jersey and break the new year cruising with Quincy, his husband Olivier, and Carlos, my new grandson. Quincy was my only child that did not attend my 70th birthday celebration, due to his mom dying, so he is making amends.
