Yesterday in Belmopan the Constitution and Foreign Affairs Committee met to consider the Proposed Amendment Number Two to the Criminal Code. The bill was introduced to the house less than two weeks ago as a progressive piece of legislation to protect children from sexual abuse and increase the penalties for child molestors.
But is it progressive, or pro-gay? That's what the Christian lobby is asking. They say that the bill is "tweaking the definition of rape" – and, in so doing, is paving the way for the de-criminalization of sex between men.
Tonight we have two stories on the dispute, exploring the political and social dimensions. But before we start the stories we warn you that while the law is to protect children, the language is definitely not suitable for children – so you might want to ask them to sit out the next few minutes.
We start first with our story from the National Assembly last night where the Committee meeting went into the late evening and had to be suspended at about 6:20.
7news was there:
Daniel Ortiz Reporting
Hon. John Briceno - Member, Committee For Constitution & Foreign Affairs
"I want to express my appreciation to everybody that came up to present their concerns, and express their views. It is something that definitely we, as a committee, are going to take into serious consideration."
Hon. Patrick Faber - Chair, Committee For Constitution & Foreign Affairs
"We've received many submissions today, at least 20 or so in writting, and we've also listened to, I think, at least 12 to 15 or so oral submissions from persons coming primarily from the Churches."
What the Minister and fellow committee member was referring to was yesterday's marathon meeting of the Committee for Constitution and Foreign Affairs, in which members of the Church made extensive presentations to them. Those presentations concerned the proposed amendments to the Criminal Code, specifically, Sections 46 and 47.
In those amendments, the Government intends to overhaul their definition and classification of sexual assault. They seek to better protect victims and allot appropriate punishment to perpetrators.
Both the Government and the Church agree that the spirit of this legislation is for the betterment.
Hon. Patrick Faber
"It is a piece of legislation, though, generally aimed to improve the protection of our children, primarily with sexual offences, rape and so on."
Pastor Scott Stirm - Belize Action
"Section 46 is the section of the Criminal Code that deals with rape, and this is changing that. It is expanding the defintion of rape. Rape is something that has been technically defined as taking place to female. This is removing that side of it, which would include for protection for males as well as other aspects of sexual offences."
Pastor Eugene Crawford - President, Belize Association Of Evangelical Churches
"We all agree that we need to go to great lengths in protection of both children and adults in our country."
Bishop Dorick Wright - Catholic Diocese of Belize
"I just sat, and I listened, and from it I observe that we have one thing in common, the good of our children."
Patrick Menzies - Representatives, Spanish Arm of Evangelist Churches
"As the head of the Jasmine Alert, this bill has something great things in it. I am fascinated with it, but there is a serious problem."
So then, what is the concern of the Church with the amendment as it currently reads?
Pastor Scott Stirm
"The difficulty that has sounded alarm bells for us has been a number of points. One of them is having to do with the issue of consent. This amendment is attributing the issue of consent to something that Section 53 gave no attribute of consent towards, when it comes to unnatural crimes, unnatural acts, and sodomy. So, it says that without consent, it's illegal, therefore, by implication, with consent, does that make it legal?"
Patrick Menzies
"Instead of just saying that any person who penetrates another person's mouth, anus, or vagina with their private parts, without the person's consent, or a reasonable belief that the other person consents, commits the offense of rape. For us, we agree with that, but, not when it deals with the anus. When it deals with the anus, that's not rape; that's an unnatural crime, which right now, Section 53 calls unnatural crime, 10 years in jail. That's how we see that."
Louis Wade Jr. - Talkshow Host, Rise and Shine
"The Churches have qualified professionals, legal minds. Today, the Roman Catholic Church stated that they got 6 legal opinions on this bill, from national and international lawyers. We know that the Evangelical Association, Belize Action, for us at Rise and Shine Belize, when we are speaking, we're speaking also under advisement from legal minds."
Patrick Menzies
"It's contradicting itself. You cannot say that if you consent to anal sex, that's okay, but the other section says that anal sex is a unnatural crime. That's is just ludicrous."
But the Chairman of the Standing Committee says that the law does not, either in the spirit or in the letter tries to nullify Section 53.
Hon. Patrick Faber
"One of the things which I think was a breakthrough in the meeting is that we made very clear that there will be no repeal in this bill of Code 53. That is not being touched at all. But 53 in its present form remains, and the unnatural crime designation still remains. Everything in 53 remains intact."
Pastor Scott Stirm
"We were firm on the fact that there is no way that they can contemplate this issue without understand the fact that they are threading on top of the content of Section 53, when we still have not heard from the Chief Justice on that lawsuit as yet."
Hon. Patrick Faber
"I don't want it to seem like there is a fight going on here by any stretch. There is no fight; this is a part of the process."
Pastor Scott Stirm
"We are committed, and we are determined to stand strong for morality, for family values, and there is a strong "Amen" from all of these leaders to say that we refuse to sit back and allow our nation to go this direction."
Last week, the media asked the Prime Minister about this amendment, and the concerns of the church, which he dismissed as trivial. However, the day before that, a site called "Gay Star News" posted this article online, suggesting that the Government of Belize was slowly legalizing sodomy.
The article does not have much to go on in terms of fact, and it is not authoritative in the least, but it has inflamed the local anti-gay lobby, which has somehow devined that writter may have sound legal advice on this amendment to the constitution to the criminal code.
Pastor Scott Stirm
"The Church is much adieu about nothing, and we beg to differ. We say that these are huge issues. The Prime Minister is one of the sharpest minds in the whole Caribbean, probably even ranking in the whole commonwealth. And - I would say - as an attorney, there is no way that he could not see how this is infringing upon other dynamics, again, when we have a pending court case."
The Chairman of the standing committee last night told us that there is absolutely no hidden agenda in the amendment.
Hon. Patrick Faber
"Let me tell you that we really don't have another agenda. I know that - you know - people are very skeptical of things, but there is no other agenda other than to make sure - and I think those who sat with us today, will conclude that this point was made very strongly - that we have no other agenda, other than to make sure that the provisions exist in the law to protect our children from abuse, be they male or be they female."
The committee meeting was suspended and will be continued next week Tuesday in Belmopan at the UB Gymnasium where there will be a full public consultation.
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