So, as you saw in our story, Caleb Orozco and his legal team asked us to attend a press conference at the UWI Open Campus.

That's the Belize home-away-from-home for the UWI Rights Advocacy Project known as U-RAP's Faculty of Law which was pivotal in getting this case to the Supreme Court on behalf of Orozco and UNIBAM.

Today, Orozco's legal team sat down and explained the significance of the ruling, and the fact the churches cannot force an appeal. That appeal will have to come from the Attorney General and the Government of Belize, and they have only a short window to file it:

Westim James, SC - Attorney for Caleb
"We found that Caleb's rights to human dignity, privacy, equality before the law, equal protection of the law and freedom of expression were breached. The court then read down the legislation to exclude consensual same sex intimacy in private."

"I think the question that you asking is what is the role of the interested parties in namely the churches in relation to moving forward. The interested parties included the church would let just that. They were interested parties in the case and they were allowed by the court to give their views. Subsequently either side has a certain amount of time to appeal, that will be the claimants or the Attorney General. Those are the parties in the cases, all other person were interested parties who could according to the court give their views."

Caleb Orozco - Victorious Against Sodomy Law
"I believe if the prime minister himself has said that the state will not shake it's responsibility September 2013 speech; I believe it's time for him to express the substance of that speech in how the state responds to the government's approach to this case at the next level of the judiciary. I also believe the government supported the gender policy and the ideals of ensuring that all citizens issues are addressed and that their primary focus is the development of its citizens and in that regard it's now in the governments hand to then respond in a constructive and responsible way that gives life to the ideals of the judgement that has been given today."

So, what does it mean personally for Orozco and other persons within the local gay community? You might dismiss it as an esoteric or arcane issue, since none of us have ever heard of gay men being arrested for their sexual practices. So, then the judgment could seems kind of like affirming a non entity – since, gays are not being actively persecuted for their sex acts.  But that's an inaccurate conclusion, says the gay community. They say that they've experienced countless instances of institutional insult and indifference, which they've kept quiet about for fear of further victimization. It also has a personal implication for Orozco himself, since he's the face of this bold challenge to the Sodomy law. But when you're tinkering with one of society's hot switches, success can be a curse.  Today, he told us that he will now have to be extra careful.

Caleb Orozco - Victorious Against Sodomy Law
"When it comes to employment our people have a basic aspiration to work, eat and shelter just like everybody else and in that regard they must have the protection like every other citizen. It is unacceptable for me to be renting a house and then have my land lord tell me I need to leave because the roof needs to fix and then later find out that he never liked the person I was living with. The land lord has no right to tell who I should or should not sleep with, the only thing the land lord should have concern with is whether I'm playing him or her my monthly rent in time."

Reporter
"Do you feel you will be targeted more so now because the ruling is in your favour as the claimant? Where do you stand on that?"

Caleb Orozco - Victorious Against Sodomy Law
"My security issues will never go away because I am the face say for the lack of a better word this will never make it to news; I'm the facey b**** that bothered to challenge the status quo in our society and manage to get a response that was meaningful. Nobody likes somebody to challenge status quo in fact it makes them insecure, it brings fear and misunderstanding and in their society violence is used as a social mechanism to put you in your place. They will always be 1 crazy cow, 1 vindictive person who will use me as a scape goat and take whatever issues they have out on me. So I will continue, I will have to continue to be conscious about where I walk, where I drive, who I hang out with, where I go in terms of entertainment and now I don't go out in Belize City. If I walk it's from my car which I hope continues work to the bank and back. I don't walk very far late at night, if I walk it's to buy chicken. My point is I and I alone have the personal burden of my security."

The UNIBAM legal team also took a few questions from the press in which we put a few of the concerns from the Christian community to them. Is the next step for Belize a push for same-sex marriage? That's what the media asked Orozco, who responded that he makes no apologies for it should the LGBT community want that:

Caleb Orozco - Victorious Against Sodomy Law
"If my community wants to fight for gay marriage we now know they have every right to go to court and litigate the issue. My organisation is concerned with socioeconomic, civil and political rights issue of the community."

Daniel Ortiz
"The members of the church we spoke to today they seem to have this chicken little the sky is falling type mentality. This is the end of the morale decay in Belize, what do you all make of all that?"

Lisa Shoman, SC - Attorney for UNIBAM
"My perspective and I'll give it to you as the perspective of a feminist. When I was a young feminist I was that if we change the law on divorce or if we change the law in the criminal code that said that once you are married you gave your consent irrevocably; if we change that the sacred institution of marriage would collapse. There is Dolores Balderamos in the back; she drove the charge to remove to a great extent not totally that law. The "sacred institution" of marriage has not collapsed but it tells you that every time there are these social movements whether it be the right for adult women to vote, the right for people of colour to own property, the right for universal adult suffrage. Every time there is one of these social movements you're told that the sky is going to fall in and that we're all going to hell in a hand basket. All that has happened Daniel is we've become a more morale society, more understanding of the fact that we all have equality before the law."

Reporter
"It was interesting to hear Patrick Menzies make the suggestion that anal and other forms of intercourse were already decriminalize; his words by section 46 of the criminal code."

Lisa Shoman, SC - Attorney for UNIBAM
"Mr. Menzies is not an attorney. The brief answer to that is his argument is utterly and completely without merit, let's leave it there." 

As you heard, we challenged the church leaders today if the decision simply reflects a more tolerant society. Today, we asked Orozco the same thing and he made the point that because of the challenge, he's brought more heat on himself. But, on the flip side, he has encountered other Belizeans who are more open minded about this issue:

Caleb Orozco - Victorious Against Sodomy Law
"I could remember a Christian woman about 60 years old. I thought she was crazy, I was walking to my mom near civic centre and normally I'm extremely defensive when I walk the street that far but she essentially said don't worry I'm here to hug you, not hurt you and I allowed her to hug me and it was the strangest feeling because it was the first time I realised that there are people of Christian faith who are not intolerant. I never asked the woman her name, I never asked her why she was hugging me, I simply accepted the hug because I know as a person I have to accept the hate right along with the love that comes with it; that's one example. Another example is in the early part of the case I remember when I was going to Belmopan and while most people would not open their mouth and say stop that, there was a gentleman on the bus who actually said "ih no the fass with you, it's none of your business, why don't you just shut up." And that was the second time I realised that people were thinking about the dignity that I am concerned with and not who I'm sleeping with."

"We don't have to be out there Daniel but people of the community who got; people like Kelvin Ramnarace who created a page to assist UNIBAM and Caleb in bringing this challenge who got people to come in, everyday people that we consider heterosexual people from certain places in government and things like that to assist with the challenge. And to all those people I would like to say on behalf of the community thank you, thank you and thank you."

After the Chief Justice hands down the written decision, which is still pending, The Government has 21 days to file an appeal if they should so choose.