The law, written in the 1880s, gives anyone accused of “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” up to 10 years in prison.
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Speaking before the ruling on Belize’s homosexuality law was issued, Tomlinson told BuzzFeed News that a decision to strike down the provision could be “highly persuasive” to courts in other Caribbean nations where similar suits could be filed, and “the reasoning would be very important for my ongoing challenge to the Jamaican anti-sodomy law”.
The Central American nation started as a British colony and the law was a leftover from that era.
The court’s decision was announced by UNIBAM’s twitter account after the ruling. The editor-in-chief of Belize’s largest newspaper wrote a column calling gay people “predators” and calling, “Woe unto us, Belize, if homosexuals are successful in our court”. “This is a momentous victory for Belize, and I congratulate the LGBTQ advocates of Belize as well as the countless legal experts and supporters who fought for this win”, said Ty Cobb, director of the Human Rights Campaign’s global arm, in a press release.
Human Rights First today applauded the overturning of Belize’s discriminatory sodomy law, a development that marks an historic victory for the human rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in Belize. “Let us hope that this step may inspire neighboring Caribbean countries to take action to end the criminalization that only serves to marginalize groups of citizens who simply seek equality and respect”.
Human Dignity First, the International Commission of Jurists and the Commonwealth Lawyers Association are among the organizations that supported Orozco’s challenge of the sodomy law. “It entrenches stigma, undermines self-worth, and encourages discrimination”. But the court dismissed the suit as unnecessary because the countries weren’t actually blocking anyone from entry under the provision.
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The government indicates it does not plan to appeal.
