Podcast: MP Wayne Furbert On Marriage Bill

MP Wayne Furbert said the Human Rights Amendment Act 2017 — which seeks to make an amendment to define marriage between a male and a female — will be debated in the House of Assembly in July of this year.

The Private Members Bill seeks to, in effect, restrict marriage to between a man and woman, and follows after a landmark court ruling which paved the way for same sex marriage in Bermuda.

Winston Godwin and Greg DeRoche filed a legal challenge after their marriage application was declined by Bermuda’s Registrar-General, and the court ruled in their favour , paving the way for same sex marriage.

The Bill — which is a Private Members Bill brought by Mr Furbert — states, “Whereas it is expedient to amend the Human Rights Act 1982, to preserve the institution of marriage; Be it enacted by The Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and the House of Assembly of Bermuda, and by the authority of the same, as follows;

“In section 2 of the Human Rights Act 1981, at the end insert— [5] Nothing in this section shall be taken to override the provisions of section 15[c] of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1974 [which provides that a marriage is void unless the parties are respectively male and female].”

Mr Furbert sat down with Bernews for a video interview, with the resulting audio extracted and provided in podcast form to provide an additional listening option.

Category: All Podcasts, Politics