GEORGETOWN — Prominent businessman and security-sector pioneer Harold “Topgun” Hopkinson delivered an emotional and outspoken message in support of LGBTQ equality in Guyana, urging the country to repeal colonial-era laws that criminalise same-sex intimacy and continue to fuel stigma.
Hopkinson, founder of Secure Innovations & Concepts Inc., the company awarded the GCCI Presidential Medal in 2022 and trusted by major airlines, ExxonMobil, and the Eugene F. Correia International Airport, shared his own family’s experience as proof that acceptance transforms lives, not destroys them.
He recounted supporting his son Quincy when he came out as gay in 1998. Though Quincy later migrated in search of opportunity and safety, he is now a respected hospital director at one of the largest trauma and teaching institutions in New Jersey, United States.
“He flourished because he knew his father accepted him,” Hopkinson said, noting that discrimination robs Guyana of its brightest minds. “It doesn’t just hurt people, it hurts families and the economy.”
Hopkinson argued that Guyana’s global competitors are moving rapidly to embrace inclusion and equality, while Guyana lags behind under laws imposed in 1893, when British colonial rule criminalised intimacy between men with terms he described as “crude” and “obnoxious.”
The maximum penalty remains life imprisonment. “These laws are not fairness, and they do not reflect who we are becoming,” he said. “Inclusive societies thrive. Investors prefer markets where workers are respected and feel safe.” Hopkinson warned that the existence of the laws still gives cover to harassment, intimidation, and violence by abusers, an ongoing human rights concern.
He said his belief in equality stems from the values he applies in business: people should be judged by their character and contribution, not by who they love. “Treat others the way you want to be treated,” he stated. “It’s as simple as that.”
Expressing strong support for local advocacy group Guyana Together, Hopkinson called on leaders to act decisively in the national interest, reminding citizens that “respecting human rights is not just morally right, it is good for business.”
