Today there were righteous fires on the road as government got ready to take the Equal Opportunities Bill to the House tomorrow. As we told you, it's a divisive piece of legislation - one that is supposed to be a progressive step for Belize, where citizens collectively stand up and say, 'no more' to 19 different forms of discrimination. But, opponents say that it is an attempt at legislating morality for special-interest groups. And last night on the news, two leading opponents Pastors Scott Stirm and Luis Wade made a call to Belizeans to take action and show the Barrow Administration that they are not in support of this draft legislation. And, it appears some persons answered that call to action with an extra bit of zeal.
So, early this morning, a pile of tires were found burning in the middle of the highway near Carmelita Village. Officers similarly found tires burning near the Beaver Dam Bridge on the George Price Highway. That prompted police to start organizing impromptu patrols on all the major highways. They were looking for suspicious persons or vehicles carrying tires and any other materials that could be used to block the road.
They didn't find any more of these tire fires, but down in the Toledo District, a group of about 20 people was seen gathering in front of a Christian radio station for a protest against Equal Opportunities Bill. This morning, the National Evangelical Association of Belize organized a similar protest in Belmopan. In that demonstration, a motorcade of about 17 vehicles moved through the streets of the City, and the participants were chanting their motto, "Kill the Bill".
Our colleagues from Plus TV News spoke with one of the organizers, and here's what he had to say about their protest:
Louis Wade, Plus TV Host/Pastor
"8pm last night we said we had to do something, so we had a meeting specifically for Belmopan. That's what we are responsible for, Belmopan. There are other people that are doing other things across the country. We are responsible for Belmopan and so last night we said we want to have a motorcade from 10-12 throughout the city of Belmopan and Roaring Creek and that is what we did. The team is shared throughout the country "kill the bill" which means we don't want a half bill, we don't want a limping bill, we don't want a re-energized bill. We want to kill the bill and then start the bill the right way. If you are going to have a new morality for the people then go to the people first and ask the people in a referendum what kind of morality they want and may the masses win. If it comes to discrimination and you want to protect the minority, do not trample the constitutional rights of everybody to give the minority special rights and that is what the equal opportunity bill is about. It is not about equality. It is about special interest and special rights and special money and special commission to do a new morality for Belize."
Reporter
"Who are the groups represented out here at the protest in Belmopan today and those across the country?"
Louis Wade, Plus TV Host/Pastor
"I know half of the people and I don't know half of the people in Belmopan and then I know the leader in PG and I know the leader in Placencia. I still have to find out what happened in Mango Creek. I still have to go and check facebook to see all use kill the bill and observe what happened."
Reporter
"Essentially this is not just an NEAB movement?"
Louis Wade, Plus TV Host/Pastor
"No. there are known and unknown players, because I am hopeful that we are successful in telling the country that this is not a church bill exclusively. This is a constitutional issue, so every Belizean should say something and do something. I would want to see certain happen that I don't know who and where it happened, because people are just saying we will not have it."
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