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41 Loy. L.A. Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 99 (2018)
A Triumphant Victory for Gay Rights in Belize Lays the Foundation for a Domino Effect throughout the Caribbean

handle is hein.journals/loyint41 and id is 107 raw text is: 









    A   Triumphant Victory for Gay Rights in
              Belize Lays the Foundation
        for  a  Domino Effect Throughout the

                           Caribbean

                           LAUREN TISDALE*


                           I. INTRODUCTION
     Over  the past decade, the gay rights movement has seen immense
progress, particularly in North America,  Western  Europe,  and Latin
America.  Social and legal reforms have developed beyond  decriminali-
zation  to allow  for equal  civil rights for lesbian, gay,  bisexual,
transgender (LGBT)  persons as well as legalization of same-sex sexual
relations. I These progressive countries stand in stark contrast with the 72
remaining  countries, which still have actively enforced laws that crimi-
nalize same-sex sexual acts.) Over half of these countries are former Brit-
ish Colonies, which inherited British buggery statutes in the 1800's.'
These statutes criminalized acts committed by carnal knowledge against
the ordinance of the Creator, and order of nature, by mankind with man-
kind . .. or with brute beast.' During the age of exploration and discov-
ery, these statutes were exported to British colonies and adopted locally,
many  with no modification even today.5


* Lauren Tisdale, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, Juris Doctor, May 2018.
    1. Dinusha Panditaratne, Decriminalizing Same Sex Relations in Asia: Sociocultural Factors
Impeding Legal Refrln, 31 AM. U. INT'I L. RIv. 171, 173 (2016).
    2. AENGUS CARROLL. STAll SPONSOIRD HOMOPiIOBIA: A WORLD StIRVEY OF SEXUAL
ORIENTATION LAWS 36 (1 Ith ed. 2016).
    3. HUMAN  RIGIffS CONSORTIUM. UNIV. OF LONDON, HUMAN RIGHTS, SEXUAL
ORIENIATION AND  GENDER  IDENTITY IN THE COMMONWEALTH:  STRUGGLES FOR
DiCRIMINA[IZATION AND CIIANGF 14-16 (Corinne Lennox & Matthew Waites eds., 2013), Joshua
Hepple, Will Sexual Minorities Ever Be Equal? The Repercussions of British Colonial Sodomy
Laws. 8 THE EQUAL RTs. REV. 50, 52.
    4. Alok Gupta, Human Rights Watch, This Alien Legacy: The Origins of Sodomy Laws
in British Colonialism  15 (2008).
    5. Id. at 13-25.


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