Same Sex Marriage Appeal Set For This Month
The appeal of the same sex marriage court ruling is set to be heard this month, with the Appeals Court schedule [PDF] listing the case — Attorney General v Roderick Ferguson et al — as set to begin on the morning of November 7th.
Same sex marriage was initially legalised in Bermuda following a Supreme Court decision in May 2017, however the Domestic Partnership Act passed in Bermuda’s legislature later that year which created domestic partnerships and restricted marriage as between a man and woman.
A challenge to the Domestic Partnership Act was brought and the Court ruled in favour of it on June 6, 2018, with the judgement saying that the provisions of the Domestic Partnership Act that serve to revoke same sex marriage rights are invalid.
The court granted a six week stay to allow time for appeal, and Minister of Home Affairs Walton Brown confirmed, “We have filed an appeal in this matter. We look forward to having this matter heard by the Court of Appeal.”
That was the second court ruling in favour of same sex marriage, meaning same sex marriage has been legal in Bermuda, then restricted, then had a court ruling to make it legal again, with that second court ruling now being appealed.
When Government confirmed they filed the appeal, OUTBermuda, which served as a co-litigant in the original lawsuit, said they will join again with Roderick Ferguson, Maryellen Jackson and “many allies seeking to defeat the Government’s appeal.”
What an utter waste of time, taxpayer dollars and further damaging our international reputation.
Three important facts!!!!!!!!
1) Neither OBA or PLP support SSM.
2) Bermuda spoke loud and clear videos don’t lie. WE DON’T WANT IT!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWfWk73aR88
3) More people have been visiting the Island
since this decision was made.
No. They didn’t. The referendum was unanswered (and non-binding, thus irrelevant) and that video absolutely does not show the majority of the population.
Which is irrelevant, as human rights aren’t a popularity contest.
It doesnt matter if the majority don’t want marriage equality. The majority DO want the Human Rights Act to be enforced and denying people equal access to rights goes against that. It’s illegal to do that.
And what will Bermuda look like after the appeal? A homophobic island?
If Government wins the appeal we will look “officially” homophobic. If Government loses the appeal it will either appeal to the Privy Council, which will make world wide news, or it will blame the court system for the present state of the law.
Either way, I am embarrassed to be a Bermudian right now.
Well go somewhere elese where it is accepted, MOST Bermudians are for Marrige between Man and Woman.
Its embarrassing as a human being that we are even having this conversation.
There are 195 countries in the world and ONLY 30 countries accept this.
Just like the bogus referendum election OBA had, MAJORITY rules.
We aacept that people have feelings and fall in love, but to normilize it as an act of NATURE remains to be debated.
Homosexual behavior is common and normal across the animal kingdom.
You must try harder to normalise your hateful rhetoric and bigotry.
If you actually believe what you said, you clearly have never read a single report that claims homosexuality exists in the animal kingdom.
Please support your claim with facts, and not from a blog.
Dolphins are a good example, largely because they are mammals. But, I’d go even further and state that homosexuality is entirely consistent with evolution.
Anything beyond stone age superstition goes over their heads.
You stating whatever does not make it true. Dolphins are not homosexual mammals. In the animal kingdom, domination over others does not mean homosexuality. Male animals that hang around in pods, packs, etc., are not homosexuals. If you read the study, which you did not,the researchers imposed their own personal sexual beliefs upon animal behavior.
To turn it around using the researcher’s methodology, male high school or college classmates who hang out together and remain friends, are homosexuals. You give your male friend a hug means you are both homosexuals.
Dolphins vying for a female by bumping into each other does not mean they are homosexuals. That would mean that two males in a bar fighting over a female are really homosexuals because of the physical contact.
Since homosexual animals cannot reproduce, there is no evolution other than extinction. You just debunked your own claim.
Your logical reasoning is flawed and you are uninformed. Go read some more.
None of this is real. You’re making things up to push your agenda.
You very obviously don’t understand the stuff you are talking about.
All of this has been shown to be both wrong and ignorant many times before.
Your party the OBA that you voted for didn’t give a rat of support for it. LOLOL
See this is why we cannot have nice things. The OBA were wrong on this too and the fact you see this as a team sport is why we’re screwed.
What’s embarrassing is that you keep spreading hate like this, demanding that Bermudians leave their own home because YOU don’t like who they happen to love.
You are everything you rail against, with this unearned privilege you are using to push the Government to hurt people by treating them as less than you.
You are bad for our home.
And there is no more debate needed. Your “NATURE” argument has been shown to be both wrong and ignorant, many, many times.
Yet you keep trying to bring it up.
Shame on you.
Thank you for your reply OJ.
Now please point me to the evidence that “MOST Bermudians are for Marrige between Man and Woman”. I do not believe that to be the case and in any event it runs counter to our Constitution and the Human Rights Act.
What other human rights to you oppose?
You homophobic &&%$
Well when the court essentially tells the plp to piss off. Again i might add. I fully expect you to be on the next flight outta my country oj. Told u already, ill buy u a first class one way seat. Lets have it
Please stop wasting my money on an appeal that won’t make any difference to any of the problems that Bermuda faces, arguing against a ruling that will make a handful of people happy and won’t affect everyone else in the slightest.
How do you know the longterm and unseen impact of redefining marriage to be anything people want it to be? it goes beyond the desires of 2 adults. plus, where do we draw the line?
Nobody is saying gay people should be mistreated in any way shape or form but merely that we recognize that marriage between 1 man and 1 woman has been the building block of our society. as we’ve gotten away from that ideal, we’ve seen a myriad of social problems. why go further from what we know has traditionally worked best? leave marriage as it is.
finally, either there’s a standard outside of our own or there’s ultimately no standard whatsoever. I personally see way more logic in a creator who knows far better than us what works best.
if you don’t believe in that, you’re left in a very precarious position and have no ultimate justification for anything, including human rights. if we’re all just animals, then there’s no justification for any of the things you’re advocating for.
We know the long term results of this because we have evidence from other jurisdictions.
The rest of your post is already debunked nonsense.
That’s hardly long term evidence. I’m talking generations. We don’t have that data because it doesn’t exist. And given the way societal issues are worsening due to the breakdown of the traditional family unit, the evidence is actually against YOU.
What part of the rest of what I said is “already debunked nonsense”? You have no ultimate justification for the morals you try to force others to accept.
If we are all just animals, ‘molecules in motion’ who evolved from bacteria as you believe, then we are left with what atheist Richard Dawkins at least had the honesty to admit: “there is no right or wrong, no good or evil, just blind pitiless indifference.”
At least be consistent with your worldview and admit this. Where do human rights even done from if we’re just highly evolved bacteria in a purposeless unguided universe? That concept is nonsense. Human rights only matter if people have value. In your worldview they only have the value you ascribe to them. Why should the rest of humanity or anybody listen to your views on morality? We’re under no obligation to. Highly evolved bacteria have no right to tell people how to act and the concepts of right and wrong are merely subjective if we’re just highly evolved bacteria.
Stop stealing from the Christian worldview to fight against the God you refuse to acknowledge. If you’re consistent in your worldview then nothing ultimately matters and we are all just dancing to our DNA. So stop wasting your life doing any of this because it doesn’t matter in your worldview….
Awaiting your “this is all just nonsense” reply because you’re incapable of responding to this critical question. Your whole worldview crumbles and this makes everything else you say afterward completely irrelevant.
“breakdown of the traditional family unit” – however, what does that have to do with gay people choosing to marry or not? Seems like an issue among heterosexual couples or individuals.
Human Rights come from the rule of law. The laws apply equally to everyone, and everyone gets the same rights and responsibilities. No group of people gets better rights than another group. No one gets to be above the law.
That’s where it all comes from. Not from a specific religion, or from the biases and prejudices of one group or another. It’s the rule of law that applies to all of us equally.
I’m gonna break this down point by point (on the areas you actually HAVE a point.
“That’s hardly long term evidence. I’m talking generations. We don’t have that data because it doesn’t exist.”
Um. We’re talking about marriage. We don’t need generations to see what the effects on society will be, as there have been absolutely none so far, and some places have had Marriage Equality for a while. Unless you have a single shred of evidence that Marriage Equality has affected society in a bad way…
“And given the way societal issues are worsening due to the breakdown of the traditional family unit, the evidence is actually against YOU.”
No. It’s not. There is absolutely zero evidence to back up your claim. None. There is no causal evidence that marriage equality has had ANY effect on “societal issues” or “the breakdown of the family unit”.
Unless you’d like to show some? Some that isn’t just correlation.
“What part of the rest of what I said is “already debunked nonsense”?”
All of it.
“You have no ultimate justification for the morals you try to force others to accept.”
And here we go with the argument for religion.
The rest of this is you arguing that your religion is right and that we should all have to follow it. In veiled language, of course, but that’s what it boils down to.
And this is an invalid argument. No one has to believe what you do. No one has to follow the rules of your religion. You can believe whatever you want. But you can’t demand that anyone else does.
That’s the difference between us.
I don’t have a problem with what you believe, I just think I should have to believe it, too. And I certainly don’t think anyone should be harmed because of your beliefs. The law agrees with me. Heck, YOU agree with me, or would if we were talking about someone demanding you believe what they do!
You, however, have a problem with what I believe in and, in the rest of your post, are pretty much denouncing me for it and demanding that I change my beliefs.
That’s why you are wrong.
“If we are all just animals… blah blah blah”
Are you appealing to me as if there’s some sort of objective right and wrong that we should adhere to? Because if you are, i’d Ask you to stop stealing from my worldview where such things have justification. Your worldview says it’s all subjective and therefore I don’t have to adhere to anything you say.
You have no ultimate standard by which to even call anything right or wrong other than popular opinion or your own subjective reasoning which is not shared by other minds. You believe your mind is simply the product of unguided blind evolutionary processes. So your ‘reasoning’ is nothing more than chemicals fizzing in your brain. How can you trust your own brain if that’s all that’s happening?
More “you should subscribe to my religion” nonsense.
This has nothing to do with the topic at hand, it’s nothing more than a deflection from the fact that you are pushing discrimination for no reason at all.
I’m not interested in hearing about why my worldview and belief system is wrong, according to you. It’s none of your business. Just like yours is none of mine… until you start demanding that I, or anyone else, should have to subscribe to your belief system in a societal way.
This is absolute nonsense. You’ve completely missed the point. Do you even understand what i’ve Said? Until you’re able to comprehend what i’ve Said and respond to it, everything you say is irrelevant. I realize this is devastating to your case as you have NO justification for anything you’re advocating for and your worldview has just crumbled.
You don’t get ‘right and wrong’ from highly evolved bacteria, there is no objective moral standard from highly evolved pond scum. That’s how you view the world, fine- nobody is forcing you to believe anything else other than this.
But if the world is as you believe, it’s ludicrous for you to be advocating for anything because all we all are is pond scum. Highly evolved bacteria. We are living in an unguided, purposeless universe where nothing ultimately matters.
It’s odd that you believe these sorts of things but then claim a moral high ground and are offended when one bag of bioligical material does something you don’t like or takes a position opposed to another bag of biological material’s viewpoint. There is no future ahead of us and no purpose for anything. It’s all just a freak accident so you have no right to claim things should be this way or that way. They just are. You don’t get to decide right and wrong or good and evil. Those things don’t even exist in the world you believe in. They only exist in your mind and nobody else is under any obligation to adhere to your beliefs.
There is an objective test of what is right or wrong. The rule of law. It applies to everyone equally,
What am embarrassment to this country on the world stage. I am disgusted to be Bermudian. Absolute shame this government is actually doing this. Wake up! Its 2018, not 2018 BC.
Um, most countries on the World stage are against it.
And?
Why does that matter?
I think it matters because like you and others on here, you use the old ‘other jurisdictions’ piece as a way to make valid your own points however, when someone else uses that same statement to prove their own, then you and others like you pop up and say why does that matter. Do you see the hypocrisy?
But… that’s not what happened.
I used other jurisdictions to answer your question of “how do we know this won’t have an effect on society?”
“Onion Juice” is saying “some other jurisdictions don’t have it, so we shouldn’t”, which is nonsensical.
But more and more countries are legalizing it ding dong. In 5, 10 years, it will be legal in more countries. Go put your head back in the sand.
I feel as though valuable time is being lost in this matter. Love is simply love and we should all equally be able to express it in anyway, without judgment from anyone especially the government. The act of appealing this ruling in it self is creating an atmosphere in which our youth of the LGBTQ community will begin to grow in a society that discriminates against the minority. EVERYONES love is equal and the privileges of love in Bermuda should reflect that. Inflicting your own religious “beliefs” and interpretation on marriage not only wrong, but it is continuing to hold Bermuda and the world back from becoming an accepting community who values and loves all people regardless of who they are.
you’re doing the very thing you’re criticizing others of doing: you’re trying to get everyone to go along with YOUR views on marriage. slogans like ‘love is love’ aren’t truly adhered to because you still have limits and views on how far this extends. guess what? that’s based on your views of morality. so to pretend that only one group is trying to impose their moral views on others is false. you’re doing the same thing.
This is simply untrue.
If we, the folks who support Marriage Equality, get what we want, nothing will change for you in any way.
If you get your way, people will be hurt because they will be losing access to rights for absolutely no reason at all.
And the limits you talk about? They’re all done for reasons.
The limit you want to impose? There’s no reason for it.
Unless you’d like to offer one?
I was always proud to say I am a Bermudian… but after all this I can’t say that. I am deeply embarrassed now to admit where I am from because Bermuda has completely presented itself as a homophobic, narrow minded, and antiquated way of thinking. This whole thing has been a waste of money, time, and made us look ignorant world wide!
If you are truly embarrassed to be Bermudian then give your passport to someone who is not and get a 1 way ticket and be proud of that country. God bless.
Exactly. People either need to move past this childish approach to this and other topics or seriously: move elsewhere. If differing views on a public matter cause you to hate your country and your countrymen so much, then maybe YOU’RE the problem. Tolerance is a 2 way street, including tolerating people with views you’re completely opposed to. How about you practice this ‘love wins’ slogan and actually love those you disagree with?
Well, here’s the thing. SSM supporters aren’t forcing those that disagree to have a same sex marriage or agree. The other way round however, those against SSM are forcing their views on everyone.
But keep pushing the false equivalence.
Seriously?? How about you – Read your own words ” Tolerance is a 2 way street, including tolerating people with views you’re completely opposed to. How about you practice this ‘love wins’ slogan and actually love those you disagree with?”
The problem is if you don’t get your way you assume people are motivated by hate. This makes me think of a little kid who doesn’t get their way and therefore says “my parents hate me!” It’s utterly ridiculous and childish. Are their hateful people opposed to SSM? Yup. I argue with them all the tine. But the sad thing is that even many of the moderate persons on the SSM side continue to assign motive to persons for traditional marriage without having any sort of meaningful discussion
What else is it, if not hate?
How else would you describe when people want to treat other human beings differently, to deny them access to rights, to refuse them equality, and do it without offering a single reason that even THEY agree with?
How else would you describe demanding the society and Government treat people differently – illegally, I might add! – for no reason?
That’s what hate is. It’s treating and demanding that we treat certain people as less than us based on absolutely nothing.
And that’s not what the problem is.
Well, it is on your side. That’s the only problem facing you: people saying you hate gay folks.
On the other side, we have people being harmed and families that aren’t allowed to be families in the eyes of the law.
But, yeah. It must be horrible being told that you hate folks…
This isn’t about views.
It’s about promoting discrimination for no reason.
It’s about hurting people.
You can have all the views you want on this subject. Go for it.
But when you start demanding that people be discriminated against because of those views? There’s a problem.
We aren’t standing up for OUR values, we’re standing up for yours, too.
Unless you think it IS ok to discriminate for no reason…
Discrimination involved treating 2 things that are the same, differently.
Same sex relationships involve PEOPLE who are 100% equal to anybody else. However, the RELATIONSHIP and why it does for society is different and therefore your argument for discrimination is not legitimate. I’m not saying SS couples can’t or don’t contribute to society in many awesome ways- of course they do. the point is that a heterosexual relationship provides things to society that a homosexual relationship does and can not. That is why many believe marriage should remain as between 1 man and 1 woman.
You can disagree with that but you can’t fairly say that anyone who disagrees is just doing so because of fear or hate or discrimination. It’s simply not true.
So why do they disagree then? Because of their belief in a magical invisible, friend in the sky?
No one is asking them to agree either.
What does a heterosexual relationship provide to society that a homosexual one doesn’t?
Is this another “they can’t have kids together” argument? Because that’s been brought up before and debunked.
Procreation is not a requirement for marriage. I am married to my wife, have been for more than 20 years. We don’t and can’t have kids. We aren’t “providing” anything to society that a same sex couple aren’t.
Am I to be denied the access to rights that they are?
Your entire argument is false.
You are promoting baseless discrimination.
The evidence of this is that you didn’t give a reason, an actual, defensible reason, that same sex couples shouldn’t be allowed to get married. “…a heterosexual relationship provides things to society that a homosexual relationship does and can not…” isn’t an actual argument if you don’t provide examples. And you can’t provide examples because there are none. None that are valid in any way. None that haven’t been debunked ad nauseum on this site alone.
And, again, it’s not about disagreement. It’s not that you disagree with marriage equality or homosexuals.
It’s the fact that you want them to be treated differently and unequallly by our Government, society, country and community. You want to deny them equal access to the rights and privileges that marriage affords and you want to do it for absolutely no reason at all.
That is unfair and it is wrong. And it’s bad for our country.
Hi Harsh, what things are provided to society from a hetero couple that a gay couple cannot, curious. Maybe if that was established then the debate can reach a new level.
No answer.
Why? Because the answer is “none”.
There is absolutely NOTHING that a same sex couple don’t offer to society that a heterosexual couple can.
Nothing.
Nothing that the law says is a disqualification.
These arguments are worthless and hateful.
And MAJORITY of Bermudians would say if we allow it they would be embarrassed to be a Bermudian.
Or they would just forget about it and move on with their life…kinda like they did when it was legal here for the short period of time….
What an extraordinary waste of tax payer’s money by an ignorant group of bigots. The very same people who scream racism at every turn. Hypocrisy at its very best.
This is the plps stance on equality beyond beliveable
Excellent news.
May the APPEAL be MOST successful.
Obviously, there are those “others” who feel that their anti Christ stand is great and relevant.
Well….NO!!It is sheer foolishness.
May God have mercy upon such behaviours!!
You are definitive proof there is no god.
Your religion is yours and should have no effect on anyone else’s life.
Or do you think that other people’s religion should be allowed to have a negative effect on your life, too?
Not that you’ll answer this…
This has nothing to do with Christ or God, thousands of years before Christianity was thought of, the practice of a man marrying a woman was normal. Even watching National Geographic where a tribe in New Guinea had their first encounter with white men, had the natural structure of Man (Husband), Woman (Wife) and children, and we call these people wild and uncivilized.
PS
Watching them take their first taste of salt was something to behold.
Reading your endlessly repetitious narrow minded , bigoted hate and rewriting of history ad nauseum is something to behold too.
You’ve been shown that this argument is false time and time again. Why do you keep spreading lies?
If your position is so strong, why do you have to rely on lies to support it?
Don’t bring my name into this. You sort your own life out first.
Not surprised , this government will do absolutely anything and everything to keep its voter base happy campers …they want to stay in power no matter of the state of our Country or how they may leave it . One can only hope that those that begin to feel the pain in their pockets will transfer that into dissatisfaction expressed to their party. Wait…. watch how much this will cost us the taxpayers for an appeal that will strip the rights of a segment of Bermudians and their loved ones. Flip Flop needs the income from being an MP obviously more than he respects Bermudians who may have a different lifestyle to his own.
16 months and all we have accomplished is
Continued Bus route cancellations ( guess nobody can fix buses)
1 trash pick up a week ( guess nobody can fix trash trucks
After 1 day of an illegal strike convinced the illegal strikers to go back to work
Brushed off the total embarrassment of Titty gate
Increased Taxation
Increased Government Expenses
Flip Flop on St. Regis Hotel ( all of a sudden its a great thing)
As I said before the Blind leading the Blind
Once upon a time most countries were pro slavery…. your logic makes no sense.
And everytime I see nannies driving around Bermuda, I see that some people would still have it that way.
Coming from the very person who would like to see said nannies leave. I truly believe you are a very sad person who sometimes struggles to figure out which way is up.
Oh yeah, and I bet most don’t even speak English eh?
Christ, what a sad, disgusting shell of a human being you are.
Pretty funny you mention that oj. Cause the majority of employers who employ the evil foreigners look like u.
Why do some ‘real bermudians’ hate gays so much?
Is this homophobia coming from your internal hatred for yourselves?
You need to seek help.
And, as per usual, we see the usual contentless, pointless, hateful othering of the LGBT community. The same tissue-thin arguments, the same refusal to engage in actual debate, the same evasions and running away from questions, the same tactics taught to them by the foreigners they brought in to fight for them.
These folks have been shown to be wrong over and over, have lost TWICE in a court of law, yet they keep pushing the same tired, illegal nonsense in a hope of hurting same sex couples just so they can feel superior.
It’s sad. It’s hateful. It’s bad for our country.
I think those that support this discriminatory act should be made to foot the bill, allowing the rest of us the knowledge that our taxpayer dollars are hard at work for schools, health care, transport and the general infrastructure.
I can’t wait till Trevor Noah makes fun of us again..
NO WHERE in any bible version does God mention the word gay or homosexuality dont you think thats strange consideing he mentions ever other condemnation which gets a free pass