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Christians "Take A Stand" Against UNIBAM
posted (December 5, 2011)
On Saturday morning, Belize Action, which offers itself as the antidote to the gay rights advocacy group UNIBAM, took center stage in downtown Belize city.

They held a rally to encourage the society to take a stand against the case being brought by UNIBAM in the Supreme Court. It was staged to precede the trial, but that has been adjourned.

So the event, was a sort of anti-climax - but it still packed a punch 7news was out there and here's how it went.

Jules Vasquez reporting
Take a stand was the name of the event and no one had to ask against what - the signs made that abundantly clear:

Pastor Scott Stirm, Organizer
"This is a time to galvanize people from all over the nation to come together and take a stand; that's why it is called "Take a Stand" rally, so this is not about hatred, it's not about being mean or nasty, it's about family values, it's about Godly values and it's about taking a strong stand to say we don't want this change in our nation."

The Saturday morning event- staged at the Battlefield Park in front of the Supreme Court shut down a part of downtown and drew a few hundred people - a fair but underwhelming crowd:

Jules Vasquez
"Not an overwhelming crowd. it's a good crowd, good spirit in the crowd but it won't move Pharaoh."

Pastor Louis Wade, Organizer
"I've seen smaller at 9th Amendment events. I've seen smaller crowds at political events. we are very satisfied with the turn out."

But the crowd was diverse: every age range and ethnic group and from all parts of the country and all Christian denominations seemed to be there in the Park. They were prayerful, spirited in word…and song.

The nexus of church and state - government and God and some government officials made it clear which side they are on not only by appearing but also by testifying to family values and more blunt personal preferences.

Hon. Anthony Boots Martinez, Minister Of Works
"To be straightforward with you I don't see anything for a man to jump on me or me to jump on a man. It's kind of harsh but that is me. We cannot lose we are already winners, we will stand up, there is no hope, no action is greater than that of the gospel and that of God. So we are winners here today."

And while that got him lifted off the stage - the PUP National Campaign manager and Cayo south Aspirant Julius Espat- who represented his leader and leaders past:

Julius Espat
"The Father of our Nation Rt. Hon. George Price made sure that our constitution was based on the concept of a Christian democracy. I will repeat it "Christian democracy."

But a judiciary which puts the law first:

Pastor Louis Wade
"We are outside of the court; we are not inside of the court. We leave that to our lawyers, but the answer is yes, we want the judges, we want the nation to know that we have a vested interest in this case. We have a vested interest in the decision. We want everybody to understand that we stand fundamentally upon the fact that this principle is a morality issue and the people have a say in what mores are. It also symbolizes the fact that we are not only at the foot of the Supreme Court but we are also at Battlefield Park, because this for us is also a battle."

Jules Vasquez
"Are you all trying to influence the judiciary? Are you all trying to send a message to the judiciary?"

Pastor Scott Stirm
"I would say it's called the courtroom of public opinion in terms of the overall sentiment. What of the things that we feel strongly about is any process of changing the laws of a nation should begin and end with Belizeans and that's not the case in this situation. We are in the crosses in the human dignity trust, we are the first of 80 nations that they are setting out to overturn the laws of homosexuality, so this is foreign impose thing upon us as a nation when the people of Belize don't want that."

Pastor Louis Wade
"I think secondly the constitution makes it very clear that the rights and privileges that we have were endowed to us by our creator not by United Nations, even the court system but by the creator himself. Our national prayer makes it very clear who that creator is."

And as the signs at the event made clear, for these believers, morality and God's Law trumps all - but as the speakers made clear there is also a geo-political dimension:

Pastor Louis Wade
"Most countries throughout the world are against the homosexual agenda. the countries that have affirm it as a part of some kind of human rights are very small but they are economically powerful, so this is an economic decision that is influencing morality. The fact that out of all the countries that they could have chosen to start their battle, they decided on Belize. I consider that to be a personal insult."

The Belize Action movement says this event is just a warm up for a bigger one to be called by the council of churches and the Evangelical Association when the date for the full trial is set.

Best estimates are that it will be some time before the case comes up for trial - but we'll keep you posted.

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