There are more reasons than ever to celebrate Pride in June.
For the second time, Bermuda has legalized same-sex marriage.
In a 2017 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman discriminates against same-sex couples, legalizing marriage equality. However, the legislature fought the ruling and passed the Domestic Partnership Act, which eliminated the rights of same-sex couples.
This week, the Supreme Court threw out the provisions of that act, meaning that, once again, same-sex is legal in Bermuda.
"Love wins again!," Adrian Hartnett-Beasley, one of the directors of OUTBermuda, an organization that worked tirelessly to uphold marriage equality in Bermuda said. " Our hearts and hopes are full, thanks to this historic decision by our Supreme Court and its recognition that all Bermuda families matter. Equality under the law is our birthright, and we begin by making every marriage equal."
Roderick Ferguson and Maryellen Jackson brought one of the lawsuits that aimed to revoke sections of the Domestic Partnership Act that removed marriage rights for same-sex couples.
"We all came to the court with one purpose," They said in a joint statement. "That was to overturn the unfair provisions of the Domestic Partnership Act that tried to take away the rights of same-sex couples to marry. Revoking same-sex marriage is not merely unjust, but regressive and unconstitutional; the Court has now agreed that our belief in same-sex marriage as an institution is deserving of legal protection and that belief was treated by the Act in a discriminatory way under Bermuda's Constitution. We continue to support domestic partnership rights for all Bermudians to choose, but not at the expense of denying marriage to some."
In addition to thanking their attorneys, the applicants also thanked Carnival Corp. for its leadership supporting their cause and for the affidavits in support of the litigation.
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