Global News: December 2017 Archives

Bermuda abolishes same-sex marriage | CatholicHerald.co.uk

'The British Overseas Territory of Bermuda is to become the world's first territory to restore the traditional definition of marriage just six months after the island's Supreme Court ruled in favour of same-sex unions.

'MPs in the House of Assembly passed the Domestic Partnership Act on Friday, which states that marriage is only between a man and a woman. However, it also creates raft of legal rights for same-sex couples under the title of "domestic partnerships", and does not invalidate same-sex marriages that have already taken place since the court ruling....

'Voters overwhelmingly rejected same-sex marriage in a referendum last year. However, a judge later ruled that the island's Registrar General could not reject a same-sex couple's application to marry. He said that the traditional definition of marriage was "inconsistent with the provisions of the Human Rights Act as they constitute deliberate different treatment on the basis of sexual orientation".

'Opposition MPs denounced the bill as "regressive", but Lawrence Scott, a member of the ruling Progressive Labour Party, said the new legislation gave "the LGBTQ community the benefits it has been asking for", while keeping the "traditional definition of marriage".

'"As it stands now, they can have the name marriage but without the benefits. But after this bill passes, they have the benefits and just not the name marriage. The benefits are what they really want."'

Note however that Australia provided the benefits almost a decade ago, but activists there continued to push until they succeeded in redefining the term marriage. The goal is not personal liberty but state-enforced approval. Still, congratulations to Bermudans for overriding an overreaching judiciary.