Homosexuality in Belize, and Why I’m a Criminal

As I mentioned in my last post about
Minister Louis Farrakhan, during his recent visit to Belize he did tone
down his conservative (or as I see it, racist and homophobic)
rhetoric.  But one thing he did have a none-too-subtle attack on was
religion’s favourite scapegoat, homosexuality.  He described
governments’ and people’s acceptance of same-sex relationships as
“sanctioning something that God don’t sanction”, and berated Belize for
bowing to foreign pressure and becoming “a whore to American aid”!  And
he echoed many religious leaders around the world (including those in
Belize) when he said that ordinary people should be afraid of the LGBT
“agenda”.  Another ‘conspiracy’ to keep the paranoid minister awake at
night…

Of course, Farrakhan and his religious kin are suspicious of the
LGBT movement, for the simple reason that they do consider gay people to
be sinners (they don’t believe that nonsense about “God loving the
sinner but not the sin” any more than anyone else does), and they do
think that homosexuals should be punished (or should be threatened with
punishment at the very least).  And in Belize they have the law (or a
common interpretation of the law) on their side – Section 53 of the
Belize Criminal Code states that any person who has “carnal knowledge”
with any other person that is “against the order of nature” can be
imprisoned for ten years.

“Carnal knowledge that’s against the order of nature” – no matter how
many times I read it, I still don’t know exactly what it covers, I only
have my own interpretation of ‘nature’ to base my decision on (I get
the ‘carnal knowledge’ bit, though).  But others might have a
different definition of ‘nature’, and who’s to say that their idea of
what’s ‘natural’ isn’t the correct one?  And that’s part of the problem –
the wording of the law is so vague that it allows for multiple
interpretations of it to be held simultaneously, all of which are
equally valid (or equally invalid).  And you don’t have to be Perry
Mason to know that the rule of law in a country can only ever fully work
so long as its citizens know exactly what is (and isn’t) legal (In
Europe, there’s the well-established principle of legal certainty,
where the law has to be specific enough to allow those subject to it to
regulate their own conduct – so it’s part of the law that the law
shouldn’t be vague.  I hope that’s not too vague for you all).

So perhaps the first thing that should be done is to clear up this
terrible ambiguity and clearly define what is and isn’t legal, and not
leave it up to individuals to interpret the law in their own way,
potentially breaking it (or incorrectly accusing other people of
breaking it) in the process (and change ‘carnal knowledge’ as well,
we’re not living in biblical times!).  Because so far, the people who’ve
been shouting the loudest about what’s ‘natural’ are (surprise
surprise) the church leaders and other religious people, the people with
the strongest views on morality, the ones who believe that their
interpretation of their holy book is the right one, and that their
definition of what’s ‘normal’ should dictate what everyone else should
do, and what laws should be applied to everyone else.  And they’ve been
using their position of influence and power in Belize to conduct a
campaign of such ignorance, misinformation, and hatred that it catches
the breath.

Nor do you need to be Perry Mason to know that when you apply any law
selectively it becomes inconsistent with the point of having a law in
the first place.  That’s why the legal action initiated by UNIBAM
(United Belize Advocacy Movement), challenging the constitutionality of Section 53,
is so important.  It’s been suggested to the UNIBAM members that they
could’ve just carried on as before (and after their leader was hit in
the face with a bottle by a stranger on the street, maybe that thought
crossed his mind!).  And it is true that UNIBAM’s high profile over the
last few years has had the unfortunate side effect of bringing the
latent homophobic sentiments of some people into the open.

But that’s not really the point – what we know about the world
changes with time, and what’s considered acceptable and moral changes
with time too; and laws are designed to be created, discarded, and
amended in order to reflect those changes (That’s why we don’t have
slavery any more, and why we don’t burn people for saying that the Earth
goes round the Sun.  And that’s why Belize is now one of only ten
countries in the Americas, and the only Central American country, who
still have this law).  So Belizeans (like everyone else) would’ve come
to this point eventually.  At the very least the creation of UNIBAM and
its forthcoming court case forces people to examine their convictions
and their biases.  And to remind everyone of just how shaky the
foundations of some people’s beliefs are, and how ridiculous those
people can be when their beliefs are challenged (Belize Action, the
church-organised counter-organisation to UNIBAM, has described the
decriminalisation of homosexuality as “an orchestrated plan of demonic
darkness to dethrone God and open a gateway to destruction”!). 
Seriously.  Someone actually said that.

Over the past two years that I’ve lived here, I’ve heard many people
express their intolerance for homosexuality, and then defend that
intolerance with the wildest of claims, and all whilst simultaneously
expressing concern for the rest of Belize’s innocent population (to get
an idea of their paranoid hysteria, imagine Helen Lovejoy from The
Simpsons, shrieking her catchphrase of “Won’t somebody please think of the children?!”). 
Some of these anti-gay crusaders are concerned that gays and lesbians
won’t do their part to keep Belize’s population growing – the Mayor of
Belmopan (the capital city) went so far as to suggest that
Belizeans would become extinct if the country allowed gays to live
freely here!  Others are more explicit in their opposition – the
spokesman for the Council of Churches claimed that homosexuality and its
popular bedfellow abortion are part of an “unacceptable” lifestyle, and
one that’s being pushed on Belizeans by foreign countries trying to
exert their power (that’s America and Britain, and all their
baby-killing queers, in case you didn’t know!).  Then there are those
who think that all this weirdness is just a lifestyle choice – which, as
most (if not all) gay people will attest to, isn’t true.  And finally
there are those who are downright vicious in their hatred – in the
country’s most-read newspaper, The Amandala, there are regular columns
by the editor and his readers, claiming that homosexuals are naturally
sexual predators who’ll nail anything that moves if they’re given half a
chance, and latent child molesters for whom paedophilia is a natural
recourse, as they’ll turn to younger partners once their mates’ bodies
become “worn out” (I wished I’d kept the article to quote it verbatim,
I’ve never read a more detailed comparison of human orifices in a
newspaper!).

The Belizean media (who traditionally fill most of their pages and
airtime with sensationalised accounts of the latest crimes, many of
which are shocking enough without the overblown reporting) are full of
this garbage, particularly the aforementioned Amandala, which began as a
newspaper associated with the struggles of black Belizeans in the 1960s
(ironically, and sadly, being part of a group that’s the victim of
discrimination doesn’t stop people from enthusiastically practicing it
towards another group).

The people who write this hate-speech often say that Section 53 (or
at least the anti-gay interpretation of it) is never used to actually
punish anyone for being gay (and it’s true that there’s never been a
prosecution of any gay person, or any person committing homosexual acts,
under this law).  So why are they so insistent on keeping it?  I think
it’s to act as a reminder to everyone that (at least as far as they’re
concerned) homosexuality is abnormal and wrong.  In a similar way to
how, in medieval times, a severed head would be publicly displayed to
serve as a warning to anyone considering criminality.  Of course the
religious conservatives don’t want to punish people for their lifestyle
choices (after all, they’ve got their God to do the punishing!) – they
just want those people to feel intimidated, and to be constantly
reminded that they’re going to hell for their wickedness.

So what do the religious people of Belize consider to be ‘natural’? 
Well, from a quick glance at The Bible (when it’s not defending slavery,
condoning murder, oppressing women, advocating child abuse, encouraging
genocide, and making demented pronouncements that it contradicts
several chapters later), it’s clear that God intends men and women to
be together for the purpose of procreation.  And woe betide anyone who
tries to circumvent that plan – remember poor Onan and the result of his
seed-spilling shenanigans?

But that produces another problem – if it’s ‘natural’ for a man and a
women to be together to produce children, then I’m unnatural, I’m a
sinner along with all the gays.  And if it’s a crime to go against
‘nature’, then it’s not just the homos who are breaking the law – I’m a
criminal too.

Why?  Because I’m a heterosexual man and I’m childless.  I’ve had sex
with women many times, yet I’ve never once had it for the purpose
of creating life.  I’ve never left it up to God to decide if His plan is
for me to have a baby or not – quite the opposite, I’ve been deliberate
in avoiding pregnancy my whole sexually active life.  Oh the
blasphemy!  I’ve been going against God’s will every time I’ve been with
a woman.  I’ve been thumbing my nose at the supreme being of the
universe every time I’ve got jiggy with a lady.

And that’s just sex with a partner.  If Onan was struck down by God
for “spilling his seed” a few times, imagine what holy retribution the
Lord has planned for a man who’s been enthusiastically blowing his baby
gravy all over the place since he was a teenager?  Think of the genocide
I’ve committed over the years, with millions of potential lives lost in
the course of every profane monkey spank.

Clearly I conduct my sex life against the order of nature, contrary
to the social norms of the country, in flagrant breach of the law of
the land, and against the intentions of God.  But none of the religious
conservatives have ever said (or even implied) that a person like me
should be imprisoned for ten years.  None of them have reprimanded me
for my reluctance to breed, or questioned my lifestyle choices, or
compared me to a paedophile.  They seem content to allow me to make my
own choices of who to be intimate with and how.  But only because I
happen to do it with someone of the opposite sex.  Religious people
cherry-pick their holy books and discard the parts that seem strange or
immoral to them – that’s why no one makes a big deal today about picking
up grapes, wearing clothes made of mixed fabrics, allowing dwarfs into
church, and all the other bizarre things that are banned in The Bible. 
But they’re still unnaturally obsessed with what other people do with
their junk.

Another possible reason why the Christian (mainly Catholic) Church in
Belize is so against changing the law is because it’s one of the most
powerful forces in the country – and much of its power derives from the
fact that it funds (and therefore controls) the country’s education
system.  And as all parents desire the best education for their
children, they’re careful to keep on the good side of the clergy.  Even
when they’re told that their kids are to have mandatory religious
instruction, and are required to attend a religious service every week,
or they can’t graduate from high school!

Without going into a critique of religion (that would take too long,
and I only have 3GB of free space with this blog), that’s another
situation that should be changed as soon as possible (and everywhere,
not just Belize) – school should be about learning facts and gaining
knowledge (and equally importantly, learning how to think –
understanding the importance of scepticism, questioning, and examining
evidence).  And they’re the opposite qualities of the blind faith and
incuriosity that all religion is based on, and the intolerance that
religious leaders have for anyone who questions that faith.  Reason and
religion have never been BFFs (ever since two nudists took dietary
advice from a talking snake), and maybe if the church wasn’t so heavily
involved in such an important aspect of Belizean life, perhaps it
wouldn’t feel the need to publicly moralise on everything (and perhaps
it wouldn’t be given the authority to do its pontificating), and as a
result the dialogue might be slightly more reasonable and slightly less
hysterical?  And what with them denouncing condoms, opposing stem cell
research, and covering-up child abuse, morality isn’t exactly the
Catholic Church’s strong point…

Nor does the Belizean church seem to know that the rest of its
religion has finally wised up and accepted that discrimination of all
kinds is wrong – even the last Pope (mini-Führer Joseph of the Hitler
Youth) issued a statement opposing it.  And if The Pope is against
anti-discrimination, then that must be because God’s against it (good
old papal infallibility eh?).  So, far from contradicting God and
Christianity, UNIBAM’s case is actually sanctioned by the Vatican
itself, and it’s the Belizean church that’s going against what The Man
Upstairs wants.

So let’s hope that UNIBAM wins next month – not so that they can turn
the country gay and paint the flag pink, but simply so that they can
carry on doing what they were doing before, but without being
criminals.  Let’s hope that Belizeans appreciate the chance to
examine an issue with intelligent, public debate (something that the
citizens of some countries aren’t allowed to do).  Let’s hope that
Belizeans who’ve been the subject of discrimination in the past realise
how important it is to not discriminate against other Belizeans in the
present.  Let’s hope that people realize that, for the good of everyone,
universal human rights law must always prevail over the archaic
commands of religion.  And let’s hope that, after all this, Belizeans
can concentrate on the really important issues facing the country.