Last week, 7News reported on the march held by members of the Church in Punta Gorda who decided to speak up on the LGBT issue, and the revised Gender Policy.
The main personalities Pastor Scott Stirm, TV Host Louis Wade, and activist Patrick Menzies reported that over 4,000 members of the Maya communities in the south participated in the march.
We weren't able to confirm that number because we couldn't attend, but that figure is supported by our colleagues from PGTV, who covered it.
Well today, they held another march in San Ignacio, and our news team was out there to see what the response would be this time.
It wasn't quite as large as the claims in the south, but we found out that hundreds still participated. Daniel Ortiz has the story.
Daniel Ortiz reporting
Vehicles and buses lined the road in front of the Macal Park this morning. The Pro Constitution March was scheduled to start at 9 a.m., but up to an hour after, it was still not under way.
That was still a good decision though, because mobilizing a crowd like what the organizers were hoping for takes time to build to critical mass.
A few minutes after 10, all the pockets of supporters gathered to be organized into one group. Complete with gospel music and floats, they moved off from the park, one congregation despite the division caused by their different denominations.
Today, they were unified in the cause to reiterate that the preamble of the Constitution recognizes the Supremacy of God.
At it's height, the crowd was impressive as it swelled few hundred participants, who not only walked,
But organized themselves into caravan behind the march. It took about 15 minutes for our camera to capture them passing each location as they marched all through San Ignacio.
The lead personalities were impressed with the turn out, especially because it was a Tuesday, and more importantly, because it's not a rented crowd.
Pastor Scott Stirm - Belize Action/Jubilee Ministries
"It was a surprise - we didn't quite know what to expect when we came out this morning - we knew that on a Tuesday that it could be tough but we're blessed beyond measure. Our Pastors set it on a Tuesday because it's Cabinet day and wants to make sure the Cabinet gets the message that this is what's happening in the nation of Belize and this is what the people are wanting. This is a continuing segment in the constitutional march that we're doing all over the nation that leadership in Belize can with Patrick Menzies and he's done a wonderful job in mobilizing the Spanish churches but then the English speaking churches were all together in this. The purpose of it is to stand on top of the words of our constitution which invokes the Supremacy of God that there can only be true freedom of embracing of moral and spiritual values - that's what it's all about. It's not a protest, it's a positive proactive stance and staying on top of those words and all these people are saying that is what we want for Belize."
Stirm also categorically stated that these marches have no LGBT hate behind it, despite the critics who have accused them of using scare tactics and half-truths to mobilize the Christian masses.
Pastor Scott Stirm
"We've taken people right to the pages of the Gender Policy and let them see for themselves and that's why there is an outrage and a stirring in the nation. I would challenge anybody that if you need to understand the Gender Policy - give me a shout, we've got documents - we could take you right to the points. Some of it is being caught by the attorneys - the legal nuisances of open ended statements that's not nailed down to what does it mean and where is it going. I would challenge anybody to bring out any evidence that this is homophobia and hate - we're standing on top of the words of our constitution, this is a positive proactive movement and the people of Belize are smart enough to be able to see that."
Wilmer Kornelsen - March Participant, Spanish Lookout
"I have a big construction work and I left it, I am the owner - I left it there because I feel that this is more important. We believe in family and the family wants to be all in one union so we need to stand up for it. We want our children to be with their parents and have a man married a woman and that's what we believe in and that's why we came out, we needed to get out."
David Moore - Pastor, Fountain of Life Church
"The message that we want to send today is simply that our God is Supreme and that anytime in history whether it's Biblical history or natural history - when you read our nation's governing system and people turned away from the moral structure that God has determined for them. That there was a fall or a demise in their culture and their finances - many times oppression followed, we're not really here to protest anything, we're just simply here to declare the Glory of God.
Terry Young - March Participant
"We have to show support - we have to be out here so that the entire country of Belize to show that Cayo is not with the UNIBAM. We serve one God and that the God that we serve is the reason we are here."
Email
Print