A student is asking the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to declare the law on the homosexual age of consent illegal in Jersey.
Sixteen-year-old Luke Small from St Brelade has lodged a case in Strasbourg in the hope it will put pressure on the island's politicians.
Reducing the age of consent from 18 to 16 is due to be debated by States members in January.
But the teenager has accused the States of dragging its feet for too long.
 |
We feel having this legislation is educating young people that being gay is somehow kind of dangerous and wrong
|
He said there was no reason to discriminate between heterosexual and homosexual people.
Mr Small believes perceptions of the gay community are being reinforced by what he sees as an unequal law and has asked judges in Strasbourg to look at whether the island's existing laws respect human rights.
He told BBC News: "We feel having this legislation differentiating two categories of people is educating young people... that being gay is somehow kind of dangerous and wrong."
One-Minute World News
News services
E-mail this to a friend
Printable version
