Lidia Pérez attacks TC ruling: "Real men are needed, not sissies"

Santo Domingo. - Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) deputy, Lidia Pérez, starred in a controversial intervention this Tuesday during the Ordinary Session of the Chamber of Deputies, where she criticized in harsh terms the recent ruling of the Constitutional Court (TC) that declares discriminatory the internal sanctions against consensual sexual relations between people of the same sex within the National Police and the Armed Forces. Pérez stated that the court's decision "is not as simple as they want to make it seem", while recalling that the TC rulings are "unappealable and binding". He pointed out that this type of ruling will set the criteria that judges must apply in future conflicts and warned that, in view of this, "who has to endorse this is the people". The legislator defined herself as a spokesperson for the "conservative" sectors of the country and assured that those who believe "in family and in moral and spiritual values" should put a "stop" to what she called a "globalist agenda." In one of the most controversial moments of his speech, Pérez claimed that the Dominican Republic needs "real men, not sissies." He added that the country requires citizens "willing to defend the border, to raise the flag and to keep the national identity alive."

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He also defended that the nation is "self-sustaining", highlighting the local production of food and claiming that the preservation of sovereignty should not yield to international pressures. Pérez's intervention adds to the voices that have criticized the TC ruling, while other sectors —including the Attorney General's Office and human rights organizations— have defended the decision, considering it in accordance with the Constitution and international treaties signed by the country.