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On August 31, the civil judge from Cartagena, Colombia, officially denied the marriage request that two women had requested. Since then, judge and pastor Ramiro Flórez has been defending himself against public scorn and against the claim of malpractice promoted by a senator of the Republic. Serious sanctions are estimated for this civil servant for imposing his Christian morality on the equal rights of the LGTBI community.
September began with the news, widely spread by the media, of the refusal of a judge to carry out a homosexual marriage, arguing that it went against his Christian values. Immediately, a discrediting campaign started in the media and social networks, calling him backward and fanatic.
When the case was made public, several media have taken the opportunity to manipulate the information where, according to them, the judge is a religious fanatic who \""decided to recruit supporters for his homophobic cause through his sentences” and “forces his court employees to listen his sermons and religious songs in his workplace.”
The Attorney General\'s Office - the entity in charge of controlling civil servants - opened a formal investigation and challenged the judge’s negative decision on the marriage of the two women, arguing the nullity of the decision because he is judging it as a religious party and that in his being a civil servant he cannot also be a “conscientious objector”.
In spite of that, the judge received several messages through social media that support his decision. CEDECOL, Colombian Evangelical Council, called a meeting so that other Christians lawyers and judges could collaborate with the arguments the judge sustained before the reconsideration appeal imposed by the couple.
Some of these messages highlight the fact that women orchestrated this plan to gain visibility for the LGBTI community, as they sought out a judge who is also an evangelical pastor.
On September 23, Judge Ramiro Flórez decided to reiterate his refusal to celebrate the marriage of the two women, ratifying his conscientious objection. It is worth mentioning that the same judge declared that the couple can go to another notary or judge to fulfill their desire to marry: “I simply reject it. If they present again, they can go to another judge and he may celebrate, because few people have a conviction like I have”, said the judge.
The battle continues, because in the face of reiterating his refusal, Judge Flórez faces a disciplinary investigation conducted by the Superior Council of the Judiciary. If the council finds him guilty, the judge may be removed, and he will lose the credentials of a judge of the Republic.
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