WESTMINSTER, England, February 16, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) — The United Kingdom will not block Bermuda’s decision to repeal same-sex “marriage.”
Bermuda’s new Domestic Partner Act, approved by Governor John Rankin on February 7, replaced the May 2017 Supreme Court ruling redefining marriage to include homosexual couples.
The archipelago has thus become the first country in the world to repeal same-sex “marriage.”
Because Bermuda is a dependent overseas territory of the United Kingdom, Westminster has the power to veto the new law. However, despite lobbying by LGBT activists, Theresa May’s Conservative government will not do so.
British Foreign Office minister Harriet Baldwin told British Members of Parliament that blocking the new law would be inappropriate.
She said, “After full and careful consideration in regards to Bermuda's constitutional and international obligations, the Secretary decided that in these circumstances it would not be appropriate to use this power to block legislation, which can only can be used where there is a legal or constitutional basis for doing so, and even then only in exceptional circumstances.”
Walton Brown, Bermuda’s minister of Home Affairs, told reporters that a majority of Bermudians believe that marriage can take place only between one man and one woman.
“The act is intended to strike a fair balance between two currently irreconcilable groups in Bermuda, by restating that marriage must be between a male and a female while at the same time recognising and protecting the rights of same-sex couples,” he said.
The Bermudian government holds that the Domestic Partner Act gives unmarried cohabiting couples rights equivalent to those enjoyed by the lawfully married.
LGBT activists are predicting a backlash against Bermuda, its tourist industry harmed as homosexual foreigners cancel their holidays plans. The BBC reports that cruise line companies Cunard and P&O, both licensed in Bermuda, are “very unhappy” about the change in the law, which will mean they can no longer hold LGBT weddings on their ships.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said that she was “seriously disappointed” by Bermuda’s decision to revoke same-sex “marriage.” However, she pointed out that the “bill has been democratically passed by the Parliament of Bermuda, and our relationship with the overseas territories is based on partnership and respect for their right to democratic self-government.