Same-sex unions policy in Belize and the USA

Same sex union is a controversial subject the world over. While Canada openly allows same sex union, not every other country has such a clear policy and this includes the U.S. In the U.S. The government is faced with a serious challenge in this regard. While it allows civil unions and acknowledges domestic partnerships, it is not willing to alter the constitution to allow legal married status to same sex couples. Even though there are no clear clauses that prohibit same sex marriages, it is understood that federal government doesn't openly support such a union. In 2003, Representative Marilyn Musgrave proposed an amendment to the constitution that would clearly state federal government stance on the issue. The proposed amendment stated:

Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution or the constitution of any State, nor state or federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.

Even though constitution itself doesn't define marriage to avoid possibility of discrimination, it is very clear that a large majority of people in the Congress support the current state of affairs with regard to same sex marriages. In other words, Congress is not seeking a change in the way marriage is treated in the United States whereby marriage between a man and a woman is accorded legal status and benefits and all other unions are not viewed in the same frame.

With the passage of Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, things on the federal level have remained quite stable with regards to this issue. The government has been forced repeatedly by states to pass a law clearly defining marriage between a man and a woman and to ensure that states would not be required to recognize same sex marriages performed in other states.

Belize on the other hand is openly homophobic. Comparing the laws in Belize to the U.S. policy on same sex union, it becomes crystal clear that U.S. is far more flexible and tolerant in its approach than this Central American country. Belize doesn't support same sex union in a legal way and it doesn't even endorse or tolerant same sex activity between couples in a social context as well.

In fact the country is so openly homophobic that it is not frowned upon if a person mistreats a gay couple out on the street. It is thus called state sponsored homophobia (Ottoson, 2009). The action is being seen as gay is criminalized. This is evident from Section 53 of the Criminal code of Belize which states:

"Every person who has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any person shall be liable to imprisonment for ten years." (Ottoson, 2009)

Gay couples have been advised not to visit this country and expect good treatment because many have been threatened by the locals. For this reason Belize is hardly the place for LGBTI population.

The most current LGBT situation in Belize is that the country doesn't discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in military recruitment. This institution has not been anti-gays traditionally. The country has been trying to frame LGBT laws in the context of human rights as presented in the constitution. The leaders and politicians are also aware of the homophobia persisting in the country and understand that they are not as much because of the laws as they are due to macho mentality of the society. Gays and lesbians are allowed to speak at gatherings and participate in gay march and rallies but they are expected to keep everything low-key. (Stewart, p.16)

US on the other hand is more tolerant even if the state doesn't recognize allow marital status to gay couples on federal level. However some states do offer marriage licenses to gay couples however these are not recognized on national basis and can easily be rejected by other states thus denying a couple benefits that come with being legally married in the U.S.

States like California where same sex marriage was briefly recognized have also been forced by strong public opinion to disallow legal status and hence Proposition 8 was passed in 2008 banning same sex marriages. Congress and public have repeatedly pushed for efforts to ban same sex marriages by urging federal government to disallow states to form their own laws in this matter.

Currently five states recognize same-sex marriage including Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire and a total of six states that recognize some form of civil union for gay and lesbian couples. Illinois and Hawaii will be the next two states to recognize civil union in 2011 and 2012 respectively. (HRC report)