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This morning, Orozco's lead attorney, Christopher Hamel-Smith spoke to the media outside of court where he briefly discussed an argument he presented before Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin.

According to Hamel-Smith, contrary to the public perception, the different churches around the world are not uniformly against the decriminalization of homosexuality. Here's how he explained it.

Christopher Hamel - Smith - Attorney for Caleb Orozco
"What I was suggesting is that the Belize constitution actually respects and cherishes diversity and that therefore one of the things we drew to the attention to the court is that while we respect the moral principles that Christians and other people may hold - even within the Christian community there are very diverse views as to whether it is appropriate to use the Criminal Law to impose penalties for homosexual conduct. We drew the court's attention to a very clear statement from the Vatican - the Holy See itself which was maintaining the Church's position as to the morality of homosexual conduct as a sin; they made it clear that they are against in using the Criminal Law against people for their homosexual nature or their conduct. Even more importantly given the connections, they shared history between colonial countries like Belize and South Africa, for example, in relation to the Anglican community. We drew the court's attention to a very powerful statement from Arch Bishop Tutu - one of the leaders on the anti-apartheid struggle in which he made it clear that he was completely opposed to laws such as section 53 which make it a crime to engage in homosexual conduct and that he saw those acclaim to the crimes that were used in South Africa to stop couples of different races for engaging in sexual activity with each other. He saw a direct relationship between them and suggested that one day, our children will look back and wonder how we could have criminalized those acts in the same way that we look back and wonder; how could civilized people have made it a crime to be black and love a white. That is what we asked the court to consider."

Reporter
"Ian Taylor - he has been one of the leading voices coming out of the Catholic Church calling homosexuality an abomination. We asked him about that particular point of the statement coming out of the Holy See and he is saying that is completely erroneous what you are putting in front of the court. He is saying that that statement in fact came from a department head at the Vatican and it has in fact been corrected by the Vatican who has clarified their position in terms of Criminalization of homosexuality."

Chris Hamel - Smith
"Well, all I can say to that is this is case before the Belize court. That was an official statement issued under the letterhead of the Vatican and it was put into evidence months ago and the Catholic church joined as an interested party and had every opportunity if there is a further statement that they say is different to that to put that further statement in response before the court. It seems to be extraordinary that if a statement is made in a case which you have asked to become a party and you do not think that that statement is true then you don't tell the court? That does seem to me to be rather odd that he should be telling that to the media rather than allowing the judge to know about it. That's all I can say."

So, while Hamel-Smith took that position in court, outside, the members of the churches who attended the trial today explained their main issue with Orozco's challenge to the criminal code.

Louis Wade Jr., who has been one of the most vocal opponents of decriminalization, told us that UNIBAM and Orozco have sought the wrong audience to remedy this violation of their sexual freedom.

Louis Wade, Jr. - Christian Youth Motivational Speaker, Talk Show Host
"As you continue to listen to the case - I'm going to ask the media and the representatives who have been allowed into the court room to ask yourself the simple question based upon the arguments that the attorneys are giving. Whether or not this situation should be in the court or it should be in parliament? And if you ask yourself that question you will notice that consistently the attorneys need to remind the judge what they are asking him to do is not legislating. Don't you believe that the first thing UNIBAM should have done, if they were so interested in removing this law that they claim to be discriminatory, while at the same time protecting the rights of the most innocent of people who 80% of the times when this law is used against minors. Would you not first work to ensure that a legal safety net is properly in place before you attempt to remove the law? No conscience! Is there no thought of the entire community? Because the homosexual community is not the only community that exists in this country. There is an assortment of communities and most definitely before you are interested as a consenting adult to allow something that is illegal to become legal. As a consenting adult will you not first take care of the affairs of those who cannot consent, which is the children?"

Hamel-Smith finished his presentation this morning – which totaled six hours over two days. He was followed by Lord Peter Goldsmith who appears on behalf of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, the Human Dignity Trust, and the International Commission of Jurists – all of whom are supporting Orozco. His presentation lasted a little over 5 hours.