Despite same-sex marriage being legalised in Bermuda on May 5th of 2017, members of the British Overseas Territory's local LGBTIQ+ community were forced to hit the campaign trail for a second time late last year, with a bill to replace same-sex marriages with domestic partnerships passing government last December.
The bill then received royal assent in February of this year, coming into effect on June 1st, making it the first country to repeal same-sex marriage.
However, it was yesterday announced that Bermuda's Supreme Court had overturned the ban, with Chief Justice Ian Kawaley ruling it unconstitutional.
OUTBermuda's Zakiya Johnson Lord and Adrian Hartnett-Beasley said in a statement: “Love wins again! Our hearts and hopes are full, thanks to this historic decision by our Supreme Court and its recognition that all Bermuda families matter."
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They continued: “Equality under the law is our birthright, and we begin by making every marriage equal."
“We all came to the court with one purpose. 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.”
There will now be a six-week holding period as the government considers their options moving forward.
