The country where I was born and grew up still has some terrible, outdated laws against homosexuality. The laws are seldom enforced, but hang over the heads of gay people in T&T, forcing them to be quiet, subjugated, and fearful. They live their lives as second class citizens before the law. It is the reason I can't live in the country I was born in. These laws create misery for tens of thousands of people.

I have been waiting a long time for somebody to step up to the challenge of taking on these cruel and repressive laws, and finally, that's happening:

The brave @trinijayjay is taking the government of Trinidad and Tobago to court to overturn their outdated and cruel laws against gays. Read his story here https://t.co/ZlWQcxEFGR and please do donate to his crowfund to fight the case here https://t.co/e5nH9rQawn

— Stephen Fry (@stephenfry) December 12, 2017

Jason Jones, a Trini based in London and an activist for 28 years, filed a legal challenge to these laws in February 2017, and the case will be heard in January of 2018.

The government is defending the law. Jason has received dozens of death threats and has had to hire bodyguards to protect him. But he's sticking to his guns, and his bravery for a cause that is so close to my heart is inspiring.

Jason isn't getting anything out of this case. There's no payout for him if he wins, just the freedom for him and the thousands of other gay Trinidadians to be openly themselves in the country they were born in. His legal team is working for free. Nevertheless, there are legal fees, travel and security expenses to cover. He's raising funds, and I want you to donate to his campaign right now. Over on Twitter, I'm going to be encouraging people to donate by matching funds.