19 Facts About Maurice Tomlinson

Maurice Tomlinson was born on 1971 and is a Jamaican lawyer, law professor, and gay rights activist currently living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Maurice Tomlinson has been a leading gay rights and HIV activist in the Caribbean for over 20 years and is one of the only Jamaican advocates to challenge the country's 1864 British colonially-imposed anti gay Sodomy Law.

In 2009, Maurice Tomlinson began teaching human rights and discrimination law at the University of Technology, Jamaica and became Legal Advisor, Marginalized Groups for the international NGO, AIDS-Free World.

Maurice Tomlinson previously served as legal advisor on the boards of Jamaica AIDS Support for Life as well as the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians All-Sexuals and Gays.

Since 2008, Maurice Tomlinson has therefore been working with local and international partners to increase the visibility of Jamaican LGBTI people in order to improve their access to health care and specifically HIV services.

Maurice Tomlinson was one of the first people to legally challenge that law, having filed a case in 2011.

Maurice Tomlinson filed a challenge in 2013 to the immigration ban of both Trinidad and Tobago and Belize.

Maurice Tomlinson asked Jamaica, his home country, to insist that the travel bans of these countries be removed based on CARICOM provisions for free movement of citizens of member countries.

Jamaica refused and Maurice Tomlinson went to the Caribbean Court of Justice asking leave to file the case with them directly.

In May, 2014, Maurice Tomlinson was granted leave to challenge the immigration laws of both countries, in a case brought on his behalf by AIDS-Free World.

Maurice Tomlinson's friends said she was wearing female clothes in an attempt to 'come out of the closet'.

In 2013, Maurice Tomlinson became a founding member of Dwayne's House, Jamaica's first charity which focuses exclusively on providing food and basic services to homeless LGBTI youth who have been forced to live in the sewers of the capital, Kingston.

Maurice Tomlinson was married to a close female friend in 1999 in an attempt to "cure" his homosexuality.

In 2011, Maurice Tomlinson married his partner Tom Decker in Canada.

Decker was the LGBT liaison officer for the Toronto Police Service, and he and Maurice Tomlinson met in 2010 at an International Lesbian and Gay Association World Conference.

In 2011, Maurice Tomlinson was awarded the inaugural "David Kato Vision and Voice Award" which was created to honor the memory of slain Ugandan LGBTI activist, David Kato.

In 2012, Maurice Tomlinson was privileged to be the first-ever Grand Marshall of Ugandan Beach Pride.

Maurice Tomlinson was selected as the International Grand Marshall for Capital Pride in Ottawa, Canada.

Maurice Tomlinson's work has since been featured in a documentary, The Abominable Crime, which describes the struggle with homophobia in Jamaica and efforts being made to challenge this seemingly intractable problem.