Colours demand marriage equality by year end
The local activist group advocating for the rights of lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender people has called on the governor to put same-sex marriage equality in place before the end of the year.
In the wake of the ruling by the Court of Appeal that the Cayman Islands must “expeditiously” legalise civil unions for gay couples, Colours Cayman met with Governor Martyn Roper and made the point that this means before 29 December.
The appeal court’s decision overturned the chief justice’s ruling, in which he found in favour of the appellants, Chantelle Day and Vickie Bodden, and changed the marriage law from the bench to provide for same-sex marriage and put an end to the ongoing violation of their rights.
However, the appeal court ordered the Cayman Islands Government, which had appealed the ruling, that it must “expeditiously” implement an equivalent framework to marriage for gay couples. But the CIG has said it has no plans to address the issue until next year.
The premier made an appeal at the end of his budget statement for MLAs and the church community to back the introduction of same-sex civil partnerships sometime in early 2020 to avoid any imposition of marriage by the UK.
The governor has not said what he thinks “expeditiously” means or at what point his office would step in. In a statement following the appeal court ruling delivered earlier this month in the case of Day et al versus the government, he said he would work closely with the CIG to ensure the direction was “acted upon as quickly as possible”.
As he delivered the throne speech in the LA on 8 November Roper also urged legislators to chose their words carefully during any debate that ensued.
So far few members have commented publicly on the court ruling. While Ezzard Miller has stuck to his position calling for civil partnerships, Opposition Leader Arden McLean has not yet stated where the official opposition stands on providing the necessary legislation.
Last week McLean took aim at the governor for his warning about potential bigotry towards the LGBT community during any future debate, claiming that Cayman had always treated people of different sexual orientation with dignity.
“If that has changed it has come about with the arrival of people like Raznovich and Governor Kilpatrick, not because of Caymanians,” he said, referring to attorney and former law school professor, Dr Leo Raznovivh, a vocal advocate for the LGBT community, and former governor Helen Kilpatrick, who was quite vocal in calling on government to address the issue of same-sex marriage.
McLean said it was the governor who should choose his words more carefully. Nevertheless, he did not say if the opposition will back any forthcoming legislation to address the lack of marriage rights for same-sex couples.
Billie Bryan, the founder and president of Colours Cayman, and Raznovich, who helps the non-profit group, met with Roper and pressed upon him their belief that the appeal court’s findings against marriage equality was shameful, saying the court had “shirked its duty as guardian of the Constitution when it has been clearly breached by the Cayman Islands Government”.
They said the courts use of the term “expeditiously” should be understood to mean that the CIG must put a legal framework in place before the deadline by which Day and Bodden must decide whether or not to appeal the decision to the Privy Council, which is within 52 days from the date of the appeal court judgement, or before the 29 December.
Colours said that if government fails to meet that deadline, the governor or the UK must impose it by that date.
“Whether the governor or the crown decides to do so by using the powers under Section 81 of the Constitution or by Order in Council, Colours Cayman made it clear and formally requested that they must do so by extending same-sex marriage to the jurisdiction,” Bryan said in a press release about the meeting, adding that anything but same-sex marriage would be considered discriminatory and subject to judicial review in the UK courts.
But the activists said the governor revealed that the law will not be implemented until the beginning of next year, which Colours said is too late. Bryan added that the non-profit will continue to press for full marriage equality for all residents of the Cayman Islands.
The appeal court’s decision overturned the chief justice’s ruling, in which he found in favour of the appellants, Chantelle Day and Vickie Bodden, and changed the marriage law from the bench to provide for same-sex marriage and put an end to the ongoing violation of their rights.
However, the appeal court ordered the Cayman Islands Government, which had appealed the ruling, that it must “expeditiously” implement an equivalent framework to marriage for gay couples. But the CIG has said it has no plans to address the issue until next year.
The premier made an appeal at the end of his budget statement for MLAs and the church community to back the introduction of same-sex civil partnerships sometime in early 2020 to avoid any imposition of marriage by the UK.
The governor has not said what he thinks “expeditiously” means or at what point his office would step in. In a statement following the appeal court ruling delivered earlier this month in the case of Day et al versus the government, he said he would work closely with the CIG to ensure the direction was “acted upon as quickly as possible”.
As he delivered the throne speech in the LA on 8 November Roper also urged legislators to chose their words carefully during any debate that ensued.
So far few members have commented publicly on the court ruling. While Ezzard Miller has stuck to his position calling for civil partnerships, Opposition Leader Arden McLean has not yet stated where the official opposition stands on providing the necessary legislation.
Last week McLean took aim at the governor for his warning about potential bigotry towards the LGBT community during any future debate, claiming that Cayman had always treated people of different sexual orientation with dignity.
“If that has changed it has come about with the arrival of people like Raznovich and Governor Kilpatrick, not because of Caymanians,” he said, referring to attorney and former law school professor, Dr Leo Raznovivh, a vocal advocate for the LGBT community, and former governor Helen Kilpatrick, who was quite vocal in calling on government to address the issue of same-sex marriage.
McLean said it was the governor who should choose his words more carefully. Nevertheless, he did not say if the opposition will back any forthcoming legislation to address the lack of marriage rights for same-sex couples.
Billie Bryan, the founder and president of Colours Cayman, and Raznovich, who helps the non-profit group, met with Roper and pressed upon him their belief that the appeal court’s findings against marriage equality was shameful, saying the court had “shirked its duty as guardian of the Constitution when it has been clearly breached by the Cayman Islands Government”.
They said the courts use of the term “expeditiously” should be understood to mean that the CIG must put a legal framework in place before the deadline by which Day and Bodden must decide whether or not to appeal the decision to the Privy Council, which is within 52 days from the date of the appeal court judgement, or before the 29 December.
Colours said that if government fails to meet that deadline, the governor or the UK must impose it by that date.
“Whether the governor or the crown decides to do so by using the powers under Section 81 of the Constitution or by Order in Council, Colours Cayman made it clear and formally requested that they must do so by extending same-sex marriage to the jurisdiction,” Bryan said in a press release about the meeting, adding that anything but same-sex marriage would be considered discriminatory and subject to judicial review in the UK courts.
But the activists said the governor revealed that the law will not be implemented until the beginning of next year, which Colours said is too late. Bryan added that the non-profit will continue to press for full marriage equality for all residents of the Cayman Islands.
