Same-sex marriage was legalised in Bermuda in May 2017 after the country’s supreme court came down in favour of a same-sex couple who sued for equal marriage rights. However, the country, later on, decided to have a change of mind on the LGBT matter.
It turned out the governor of this British island territory wasn’t a huge fan of gay couples as he went on to approve a bill reversing the right to same-sex marriages.
The decision, made by Governor John Rankin, makes Bermuda the first Western country to legalize gay marriage and then reverse the trend.
The reversal did not, however, affect same-sex couples who have already been married before it came into effect. These couples will not have their marital status revoked.
However, the governor’s action of reversal was met with stiff resistance and criticised by international human rights groups who have been lobbying Boris Johnson, the British foreign secretary, to step in.
According to these groups, the reversal contradicts the Bermuda constitution which guarantees freedom from discrimination.
The original ruling legalising same-sex marriage provoked protests and outrage from the island, which is socially conservative, despite being welcomed by the gay community.
The director of Human Rights Campaign Global Ty Cobb said that the governor and Bermuda’s parliament ‘have shamefully made Bermuda the first national territory in the world to repeal marriage equality.’
He continued: ‘This decision strips loving same-sex couples of the right to marry and jeopardises Bermuda’s international reputation and economy.’
Rankin issued only a short statement, saying: ‘After careful consideration in line with my responsibilities under the Constitution, I have today given assent to the Domestic Partnership Act 2017.’
Walton Brown, Bermuda’s Minister of Home Affairs, whose ruling PLP party proposed the new act, is satisfied with the outcome.
He said: ‘The British government recognises that this is a local government decision’. The acts struck a compromise, ‘restating that marriage must be between a male and a female while at the same time recognising and protecting the rights of same-sex couples.’
