Tonight Belize's LBGT community is rejoicing – after Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin struck down the law criminalizing sodomy.  It's the end of more than 3 years of waiting for gay rights activist Caleb Orozco who challenged the constitutionality of Section 53 of the country's Criminal Code in May of 2013.

That law reads, "every person who has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any person or animal shall be liable to imprisonment for ten years."  Orozco told the court that the law criminalizes intimacy between gay men who are consenting adults, and it violates their rights.

Today, the Chief Justice handed down the momentous decision – planting a stake for gay rights in the country's first culture war which featured public morality on one side, and individual freedom of choice on the other.

Indeed, very high stakes, and this morning the courtroom was packed with personalities from both sides of this divisive issue. He read the entire judgement which took him a whopping 1 hour and 29 minutes. The judge has ruled that Section 53 of the Criminal Code has on a homosexual man is disproportionate. It contributes to prejudice, and lends itself to the stigma that all gay men should be treated like criminals. The judge says that as a consequence, it degrades and devalues gay men, by offending their right to human dignity.

He ruled that Section 53 is in breach of the constitutional rights of gay citizens, and it needs to be amended. To fix the offensive legislation, the judge has made an order that there will be an additional clause which will be added to the law. That new clause reads quote, "This section shall not apply to consensual sexual acts between adults."

The fix preserves its intended use to criminalize the sodomy of boys who are under the age of consent, and it also criminalizes rape committed by one male on another.

It is a landmark decision which will be read worldwide, and studied very closely in the Caribbean.

7News had a front row seat for this morning's decision and we got the reaction from all sides. Daniel Ortiz reports:

Martha Carrillo - Excited About the Win
"We have arrived, we have arrived, we have arrived. The judge has ruled in our favour and there is no one who can take this moment away from us."

Caleb Orozco - Victorious Against Sodomy Law
"I have to say I am extremely laded and I'm saying laded, I'm speechless right now but because today is really really important I will as you guys to join me at UWI for 2 o'clock to do a more extensive discussion and I would hope that you all could make it for 2 o'clock. This is huge for me!"

That was the mood of elation from those within the local LGBT community and their sympathizers after hearing that the judge had ruled in Caleb's favour. Consensual sex between gay men is legal and no longer punishable under Belizean law. 

Lisa Shoman, SC - Attorney for UNIBAM
"I think we won on all the points that we had ask the chief justice to rule on. The offending section for 53 has been read down which means it will be amended to exclude any acts between consenting adults in privacy. That is the essence of the ruling so the look of section 53 will change; the court has the power to do that."

The LGBT community is no doubt rejoicing about the outcome, but if you asked the Church leader who were out there today, Belize as a nation finally flipped the moral switch to turn on the countdown to its destruction. They were not the least bit concerned about being perceived as alarmists.

Pastor Lance Lewis - Pres. National Evangelical Assoc of Belize
"This is an abomination to reach to this point we are now allowing sex; it's going to move further down."

Richard Smith - Christian Leader
"Today is a dishonour to the living god. It's a shame that this come out couple days after Hurricane Earl. Earl is a revelation, see everything happen god has it set on timing to show Belize to show the chief justice and to show the nation his blessing on this nation; we get a direct hit, the entire nation of Belize nobody died. It went a tropical depression, tropical storm, killed 38 in Mexico."

Patrick Menzies - Christian Leader
"It's over it's just the beginning of the end."

But did it really?

Daniel Ortiz
"The situation has changed yet our lord and saviour has not struck Belize off the face of the map. Things continue as per normal, why is this such a big deal for the church?"

Pastor Lance Lewis - Pres. National Evangelical Assoc of Belize
"The church believes in marriage between a man and a woman and therefore sex between a man and a woman is what the church believes. To make a law now that strike out the law that says it's okay to have between male and male, female and female is against the word of god, it is in my mind against the original constitution of Belize and therefore it will bring all types of ills on our society. We already have several problems this year, storms of different types and maybe more."

Marisol Amaya - Krem
"There's a lack of evidence on the part of the churches to back up the principles that you are trying to push as argument."

Pastor Lance Lewis - Pres. National Evangelical Assoc of Belize
"Well we are going by the bible and that allows us to back up our arguments from the bible."

Daniel Ortiz
"But sir the bible also says that Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed because of this issue. Nothing has happened like that."

Pastor Lance Lewis - Pres. National Evangelical Assoc of Belize
"Well it wasn't destroyed immediately it took a time. We will go that road if we don't turn around and if anybody goes that road will find the same result; destruction; because to go against god's word is to bring destruction on one self."

And these men of the cloth say that the onus is on the Christian community and the general population to press the reset button to try to reverse what they see as the moral decay unfolding in real time.

Pastor Lance Lewis - Pres. National Evangelical Assoc of Belize
"We have to get in our knees and pray that god will bring about a revival, god will bring about a change."

Patrick Menzies - Christian Leader
"The people still govern the country and we can demand to our senior leadership which is our government that we retract this mess and I believe that Belize needs to take to the street and have this thing retracted. Problem is that Belize you weren't paying attention. Section 46 was changed already."

Pastor Lance Lewis - Pres. National Evangelical Assoc of Belize
"And the church now that has been sleeping will have to arise and wake up and get militant in the sense of get on its knees and stand up for the things of god."

But, what if the court's decision sort of reflects changing norms in a less Christian, less conservative Belizean society?

Daniel Ortiz
"Do you consider whether or not your view has now been decreasing the minority view because Belize seems to be a lot more tolerant; live and let live."

Richard Smith - Christian Leader
"Right but we have to make choices because if we continue tolerate the attack in our minors. The attack is on the family values and you and I know two men together cannot produce."

Judging by the reaction of these members of the church, the challenge to the Chief Justice's decision may be imminent at the Court of Appeal.

Richard Smith - Christian Leader
"When they rejoice and say love won out, love will win out because god is going to show us where we are."

Martha Carrillo - Excited About the Win
"It's an incredible feeling today that we're experiencing 3 years of waiting for many but a life time for us the persons who have been experiencing the stigma and discrimination. People say that there is no stigma, no discrimination. Just look at Facebook and look at all the offensive things that we have had to be encountering."

Pastor Lance Lewis - Pres. National Evangelical Assoc of Belize
"But god has his own plans and god will intervene in his own time."

Pastor Lance Lewis - Pres. National Evangelical Assoc of Belize
"Section 53 is only one of many laws that will be changed because of the gender policy. The gender policy asks for many other sections to be changed; 53 is only one. I have proof where they are already switching in the school in Santa Elena Cayo where they are already switching male gender to female gender; they are already doing it right now."

The Government of Belize must also pay costs. The legal battle featured legal luminaries such as British Queen's Counsel Lord Peter Goldsmith; Trinidadian Senior Counsels, Chris Hamel-Smith and Westmin James; and local high-powered attorneys including Senior Counsels Eamon Courtenay; Godfrey Smith; Simeon Sampson; Rodwell Williams; Michel Chebat;  and Lisa Shoman.