Anti-gay US preacher Steven Anderson said he was prevented from boarding a flight to Jamaica yesterday by airline officials in Atlanta who claimed the directive to deny him entry came from the Jamaican Government.

It was, in fact, the Jamaican Government that shut the door in his face. The only statement out of the Ministry of National Security yesterday, when questioned by The Gleaner, was: “The decision was made to deny him entry by the chief immigration officer because the pastor’s statements are not conducive to the current climate.”

Anderson was scheduled to land at the Norman Manley International Airport on a Delta Air Lines flight yesterday evening with his 14-year-old son to do missionary work in the island. His intended visit was primarily opposed by members of the gay community who contended that his messages were homophobic and condoned violence against an already marginalia group.

“I had a connecting flight in Atlanta, so as soon as I got to Atlanta, Delta Air Lines told me that they received a notification from Jamaica that I was not going to be allowed to enter,” said the pastor who heads the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Temple, Arizona.

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