So, NEAB continues to be the most vocal church group to oppose the gay sex judgement, but the Government is trying to make sure that they aren't moving crowds based on misinformation and misunderstanding.
So government has gone on a media offensive - to get its message out. The Barrow Administration wants to make it clear why government isn't appealing and why it does not believe that the judgment paves the way for same sex marriages.
So, the Attorney General Vanessa Retreage and Human Development CEO Judith Alpuche were deployed today to the Love FM Morning Show. They were there to again outline what the Government's position is on the Section 53 judgement, and when they came off the air, the Attorney General granted us a brief interview:
Hon. Vanessa Retreage, Attorney General
"I think it's important because people need to have a basic understanding of what the judgement is and thereafter they are free to form whatever opinion they choose to have in relation to that judgement. But it's just to ensure that the actual facts of what the judgement is, disseminated to the public and they aware of what the judgement does and does not do from a government perspective. I think people should understand that section 53 was amended to ensure that persons engaging in consensual sexual acts - adults engaging in consensual sexual acts in private is not a crime."
Daniel Ortiz
"Now ma'am, have you all received as the defendants any orders from the court or any notification from the court that the judgement has been perfected?"
Hon. Vanessa Retreage, Attorney General
"No, we have not and that is usually a participatory process in that both the claimant and the defendants engage in a process of perfecting the order to ensure that the terms contained in that perfected order as stated by the judgement. So we would know, we would participate in that process."
Daniel Ortiz
"Have any of the interested parties made any indications formally that they would try to take up the government's suggestion to appeal on their own?"
Hon. Vanessa Retreage, Attorney General
"What do you mean by formally, in terms of a letter written? No. We received no formal indication."
Daniel Ortiz
"Now ma'am we've seen differing views on this particular issue in that the suggestion is from the government that any person can appeal as long as they can prove to the court that the judgement affects them. But we also heard attorneys state clearly that only the claimant and the defendants can appeal."
Hon. Vanessa Retreage, Attorney General
"I think it's important to understand the question that was posed to the Prime Minister and the answer that he gave. What was asked is by virtue of the fact that there are interested parties, does that fact alone preclude them from appealing and the answer is no. There have been instances in our courts where interested parties have been allowed to appeal. Now they will have to satisfy a sufficient interest test and that test would be determine base on the evidence that they produce to the court. So it is for them to put that evidence before the court for the court to analyze that evidence."
Daniel Ortiz
"Now ma'am, would you agree that while the judgement has its narrow focus, that this victory for Caleb Orozco sort of gives a peg for gay rights in Belize in that a precedence has been established?"
Hon. Vanessa Retreage, Attorney General
"No. I would confine what the judgement actually does to what it actually does, in that it says that consensual private acts between adults are no longer criminalized and that is the extent of the judgement."
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