Same Sex Marriage

The Petition

Following news that a same-sex couple hoping to get married on a cruise were unable to as the company is registered in Bermuda which prohibited them from conducting same-sex marriage ceremonies, I started an online petition signed by close to 5,000 people calling for the Bermuda Government to “Legalize Same Sex Marriage and implement a complete and full Human Rights for all Bermuda citizens & visitors”. The petitiion was presented in May 2015 to the Minister of Community, Culture & Sports Patricia Gordon Pamplin.
» Read "Same-Sex Marriage Petition Presented" on Bernews
» Read "Petition Supporting Same Sex Marriage Reopens" on Bernews

A brief summary

Same sex marriage became legal on 5 May 2017, when the Supreme Court of Bermuda declared that same-sex couples had a legal right to marry in the territory after a couple (Greg DeRoche and Winston Godwin) filed suit against the Bermudian Government. However, a bill to ban same-sex marriage and establish domestic partnerships was passed by the Parliament in December 2017 and went into effect on 1 June 2018 though same-sex marriages performed before that day remained legally recognised. In response to the renewed ban on same-sex marriage, two legal challenges were filed opposing the domestic partnership law. I started a new petition called "Save marriage equlity in Bermuda" and signed by over 3,000 people to keep marriage equality in place and not overturn the historic Supreme Court ruling of May 5th 2017. On 6 June 2018, the Supreme Court struck down the parts of the domestic partnership law that banned same-sex marriages but stayed the ruling while the government appealed to the Court of Appeal. It upheld the right of same-sex couples to marry when it handed down its ruling on 23 November 2018. Same-sex couples are free to marry in the territory while an appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is under way. (Wikipedia)

The website + Facebook group

In 2015 I also launched a website called Same Love Bermuda with the main goal of asking support and providing up to date information about the Bermuda journey towards equality. Many Bermuda businesses have asked to join our list of supporters. I also created a Facebook Group called "Bermuda Pride supporters" that counts more than 6,000 members.