This is HUGE news for international LGBT rights
YES!!! Today, the Belize Supreme Court ruled that the country’s antiquated anti-sodomy law — intended to criminalize homosexuality — is unconstitutional.
Whether a conversation, holding a flag or being in a crowd, expression always matter at pride. pic.twitter.com/0HSRj3p87p
— UniBAM Belize (@UNIBAMSupport) July 3, 2016
Caleb Orozco, a gay Belizean man, was the court case’s main plaintiff, and told BuzzFeed News that the Supreme Court supported their decision on the basis of “privacy grounds” and “protections of ‘dignity, quality, and freedom of expression.’”
Furthermore, Orozco reported that the judges stated all protections in the Belizean constitution relating to sex must also protect the rights of people of any sexual orientation. And people are celebrating all over social media:
#Belize Supreme Court rules Section 53 unconstitutional!!!!!
CONGRATULATIONS BELIZE! https://t.co/aXoVu43ngU— SASOD Guyana (@SASODGuyana) August 10, 2016
!!!!
We won on all counts. Speechless. Omg. Speechless
— UniBAM Belize (@UNIBAMSupport) August 10, 2016
And advocates hope that this ruling will set a precedent for all of the other regions that still criminalize homosexuality.
BREAKING: #Belize Supreme Court overturns law making homosexuality illegal. #GlobalAlly @HRC @OutRightIntl @glaad pic.twitter.com/ZfiY1y8YYY
— Global Ally (@Global_Ally) August 10, 2016
Belize, a country in the Caribbean, has had the anti-sodomy law since its days as a British colony — and it is now the first former colony in the Caribbean to declare it as unconstitutional.
As explained by BuzzFeed News, there are still 10 other English-speaking countries in the Caribbean with anti-sodomy laws — including Jamaica. Maurice Tomlinson, a gay Jamaican man, filed a lawsuit in December against the anti-sodomy law in his country — but his case was thrown out. Tomlinson is hopeful that Orozco’s victory in Belize will aid him in his fight for justice.
