Topic: gay marriage

With the Legislative Assembly set to debate the Domestic Partnership Bill, do you support equal rights protection under the law for those in the LGBTQ community?

It would be a mistake to think Friday’s landmark decision legalising same-sex marriage in the Cayman Islands will immediately settle this divisive societal issue. But it does represent the beginning of a shift towards greater tolerance.

Same sex marriage is legal in the Cayman Islands after a landmark judgment in Grand Court this morning. Chief Justice Anthony Smellie ruled that the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman was unconstitutional and violated multiple rights.

A committee of U.K. lawmakers is urging its government to intervene if the British Overseas Territories do not legalize same-sex marriage or abolish rules tied to belongership, the equivalent to Caymanian status, or a similar status.

The Cayman Islands Human Rights Commission has described government’s decision to fight a court challenge against same-sex marriage as an “inexcusable waste of public funds.”

Chief Justice Anthony Smellie will decide within the next few months whether the Cayman Islands ban on same-sex marriage should be overturned.

Government’s lawyers accepted Monday that a persuasive argument had been made for the introduction of civil unions for same-sex couples in the Cayman Islands, though they suggested this should be left to elected politicians to decide rather than enforced by the courts.

Government’s lawyers claimed Friday that the Cayman Islands constitution explicitly prohibits same-sex marriage.

Denying marriage rights to same-sex couples is “simple discrimination” and violates rights guaranteed under the Cayman Islands Constitution, a leading barrister claimed Thursday as a test case on the issue began in Grand Court.

The United Kingdom has no current plans force its overseas territories to legalize same-sex marriage through an order in council.

Bermuda’s courts have legalized same-sex marriage for the second time in a landmark ruling that could impact the battle for marriage equality in the Cayman Islands.

New Cayman Islands governor Martyn Roper said he is happy to wait for the territory’s Grand Court to make a ruling on same-sex marriage.

The trial involving a same-sex couple contesting Cayman’s marriage laws will take place on Feb. 5, Chief Justice Anthony Smellie ordered on Friday.

The Bermuda government’s decision to repeal same-sex marriage rights has been overturned by the island’s Supreme Court.

Amid continuing community protests, Bermuda held its first gay wedding last week, sparking renewed confidence among campaigners in the Cayman Islands that the territory could soon follow suit.

The Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly voted along party lines Thursday night to oppose a motion that sought a referendum on whether the territory should accept same-sex marriages. All nine government members opposed the motion, while all opposition party and independent members supported it.

Cayman Islands Premier Alden McLaughlin indicated Thursday that his ruling Progressives party-led government would block any attempt to hold a referendum on whether Cayman should change its law to accept same-sex marriages.

I recall that about 20 years ago this matter was being discussed in the local churches, and I wonder how many LGBT people those churches have managed to win for the Lord since then.

A heated discussion on same-sex marriage is guaranteed to draw attention away from unemployment, failed government policies, the ever-increasing welfare state, etc.

Why have a referendum on support for same-sex marriage? There is no doubt that the answer from the voting public will be “No.”

Conservative attorney David Gibbs, president of the of the National Center for Life and Liberty in the United States, will give a keynote address Sunday at a conference on “Bible-based family values” in Cayman.