Chief justice legalises gay marriage
Chantelle Day (left) and Vicky Bodden
(CNS) UPDATED WITH FULL STORY: In an historic landmark ruling for the Cayman Islands, Chief Justice Anthony Smellie has legalised same-sex marriage. In his judgment delivered on Friday in the human rights case filed by Chantelle Day and Vicky Bodden, who had been refused a marriage licence because they are a same-sex couple, the country’s senior judge found in their favour for all of their claims and made the decision not to allow “the violation of the petitioners’ rights to continue”, and for the “indignities” that they and their daughter have been subjected to be “put to an immediate end”. He therefore ordered the modification of the law, instantly legalising gay marriage in Cayman.
Chief Justice Smellie found that in refusing them a marriage licence the government had breached several of their human rights, including the right to a private family life and freedom of expression, and that it had discriminated against them on the basis of their sexual orientation, also violating the women’s rights as enshrined in the Cayman Islands Constitution.
The chief justice outlined in his ruling that no justification had been established by the government in its response to the petition to sustain what he said was the “severe form of discrimination”.
He said the while it was perhaps an unintended consequence the 2008 amendment to the marriage law with the religious aim of maintaining marriage as the exclusive privilege of heterosexuals, the effect had been to “impose indignity, inequality of treatment and inequality of legal status upon same-sex couples”.
He also made it clear that many inequities have existed in the name of tradition but neither tradition nor religion could form the “rational basis for a law”, and he pointed out that marriage is a secular institution.
Explaining the power the court had to remedy the situation for the petitioners, the chief justice said that the legislature had chosen not to open the marriage law to same-sex couples or to pass legislation conveying the same rights for civil partnerships, and so it fell to the judicial arm to resolve the issue.
He said it was settled case law that the court has the power to make legislation which breaches the constitution, as he found was the case with the marriage law, compliant with the Bill of Rights.
He said the court was bound and had a duty not to allow the discrimination to continue, as he ordered a change of wording to the marriage law; it should now read: “marriage means the union between two people as one another’s spouses”, instead of “between a man and a woman” and substituting the words “wife” and “husband” with “spouse” in other relevant parts of the legislation. This immediately paves the way for Day and Bodden to marry.
The judge also made it clear that the government had been given opportunities to remedy the discrimination well before the women took legal action. But even after Day and Bodden had written to the governor and the government asking them to provide, at the very least, access to civil partnerships or some form of solution that would convey similar rights as marriage to same-sex couple and avoid the need for the women to turn to the courts, the authorities failed to act.
“By any objective measure it must be regretted that such efforts at finding a non-litigious resolution did not bear fruit,” the chief justice found in his ruling.
As he concluded the executive summary of his decision Friday, he said that the process of modifying the marriage law to bring it into compliance with the Constitution did not threaten the institution of marriage but that the “institution is strengthened” and that “our constitutional democracy will itself be strengthened by the affirmation of the state’s obligation to respect fundamental human rights”.
As the chief justice left the court following the decisive ruling, the packed courtroom was awash with emotion, as the many friends and supporters of Day and Bodden broke into applause. The women were clearly overcome as the chief justice had effectively found fully in their favour; with a stroke of his pen he had removed the discrimination the women and their daughter were battling and introduced marriage equality to the Cayman Islands.
Local attorney Ben Tonner QC, who represented the two women, said they were delighted that their relationship has been recognised at long last. “The chief justice’s decision demonstrates in unequivocal terms that the rule of law and the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom are alive and well in the Cayman Islands,” Tonner added.
Speaking to CNS after the event Chantelle Day said simply, “Love wins.”
But she also thanked many people who had helped them, especially Dr Leo Raznovich, who had helped them the whole way through the process and helped pull together a “passionate and dedicated legal team who were willing to go above and beyond”, as well as all the people who helped them fund the legal petition.
Given the sensitivity of the case, the couple have been described by many people as “heroic”, being the first to push this type of case. Day said that they didn’t feel like heroes but that they had seen a legal path to gain access to the rights they were being denied.
“We felt it would only take a matter of someone being willing to stand up publicly and challenge it for us to be successful,” she added.
Raznovich has been a tireless advocate for rights of the LGBT community and marriage equality since his own case, where he had at first been denied the right to be dependent on his husband’s work permit, despite the fact that the men were legally married.
The former law school professor and his husband successfully appealed the Immigration Board’s decision and paved the way for non-Caymanian gay couples who were married lawfully in other countries to have their marriages recognised for the purposes of immigration. But Raznovich had been well aware of the irony that local gay people were still excluded from any form of marriage equity and continued to campaign.
Speaking about the outcome on Friday, he said, “Today the Cayman Islands made important progress towards equality and becoming a fairer society. In time, this decision will be seen as a victory for all. Right now, however, we celebrate that Chantelle and Vickie have acquired the freedom to love one another with dignity in the eyes of the law. My husband, James Reeve, and I wholeheartedly wish them both, and their respective families, a future together full of love, health, happiness and mutual respect.”
The full detailed and comprehensive judgement in the case is expected to be available on the court website shortly.
Category: Local News
Congratulations to these wonderful two ladies who demonstrated to us all that LOVE will always WIN. It is hoped Cayman can now come together in peace and harmony and ‘come out’ from the closet of the Biblical comfort zones. The Caymanian LGBT+ community are your friends, relatives and co-workers. We are the first to celebrate our straight friends and family choices of love and often the last to pass judgement when love gets rocky. We listen, we care and often in silence as there is never any encouragement to share our pain or love denied.
Imagine not being able to show and celebrate your love for someone you were born to marry. We have “the one too” – but until now we had no legal protection or security or social support to show and celebrate our love. We had no assurances all straight couples take for granted to start a family in a protected and safe environment. Something we all want and desire for our children.
Let us rework Caymankind and make it inclusive of our LGBT+ community. We are not asking you to give out rainbow flags; we are only asking for the same opportunities to celebrate our love for those we were born to marry. We are the ‘good friends’ whom you can always call in a panic to pick up your kids. We are the ‘good friends’ who can lend that helping hand and listen for hours, male and female on your relationship highs, tears and woe. Always never judging when your “one” has become that sixth or seventh. We are the guys you call on a Sunday morning when you need to pay that extra $100 child support and somehow its always in our top drawer.
So, Caymans straight community, please stop being so selfish and support our chance to celebrate the one we love and have our families with the same legal and societal protection you take for granted. Please do not just be silent or worse say as I have heard uttered so many times “you know we do not care what you are”.
What I am is a human being with the same feelings, emotions and desires like anyone else. To be afforded the same respect and opportunities for my personal happiness you may take for granted. I have never held or kissed the loves of my life in public, you have never invited us as a couple and worse you have never cared enough to look and see the pain which such statements have caused me.
I will wait for the haters to hit anyway they can, but you will have to aim good as I have heard, an felt it ALL from Governors, to gardeners …… and I’m still here ….
Indifference is the worse form of discrimination as it is silent and devoid of any human respect or compassion. So Cayman stop being indifferent to those of us who were born to love those we do !
Edenbots set to self destruct in 3…..2…..1…..
All you psuedo-christians do know there’s only so many churches here because the American bible belt charlatans set them up to hide money here, right?
Most of them don’t give two hoots about you, as long as just enough of you keep turning up to legitimise their offshore operations.
It’s either them, or the same right-wing hate preachers that have infected many African countries with their extremist nonsense. It was American church dollars that lobbied the Ugandan government to make homosexuality illegal, encourage Ugandan men to “correctively rape” gay women to “fix” them, and even introduce the death penalty for sodomy.
These are your people, your allies. I hope you choke on the CJ’s judgement.
CNS is this immediate as stated ? Can a same-sex couple (with Caymanian spouse) that was already married (outside of Cayman) now apply for Resident and employment right as a spouse of a Caymanian?
CNS: I (the moderator) don’t know, I’m afraid, but I will gather all questions about this and they will either be answered in a follow-up article on this site or I’ll pass them to Auntie to find out.
Admittedly, it is very strange and new from last week, but the answer can only be yes. There isn’t just the obligation to recognize same sex marriages, but to advocate and defend those rights to equality. Anyone that stands in the way now stands to face criminal charges.
Civil rather than criminal I think
Whilst CNS is making enquiries, I believe the answer to be yes. Indeed the Immigration Department and WORC have long been given appropriate legal recognition to such relationships. The Boards responsible for work permits have not, but that is likely to change with immediate efffect. It was always mad that one part of immigration afforded these relationships due recognition, whilst another did not.
“The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.”
LMAO
Not about to join the raging pro v anti Bible battle…I have just one question for the Chief Justice;
What happens when 3 people, gay or otherwise, demands to be married in the Cayman Islands…as we see is a rising trend elsewhere?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/03/colombia-three-men-union-alejandro-rodriguez-manuel-bermudez-victor-hugo-prada
I ask because Smellie’s newly enacted definition of marriage clearly discriminates against said individuals.
Is there an end to the end of “discrimination”…especially in these days of ” make everyone happyism”?
Standing by for all logical and non-discriminatory responses…other than essentially; “because we say so”.
– Whodatis
Your entire argument is based on slippery slope whataboutism
While completely ignoring the reality of the situation because it has no effect on you so who cares right Who
You might act like you are above the discorse but in my books your position makes you worse than these bible thumping lunatics
You see the issue and suspend all ration and logic to argue anyway
They were never being rational in the first place
Interesting reading, so thanks for inclyuding the link.
Sorry, but if you read the article carefully, it did not describe any sort of three-way gay marriage in Columbia. It describes what can clearly be called a notarized document describing a relationship of three people, mostly for estate purposes.
In Columbia gay marriage has been legal for some time, and if the three (two of which are already married) wished to be “married” they would be refused, as Columbian law only acklnowledges marriage as between two people.
There seems to be little change of that changing, there or anywhere.
The answer to your “silly supposition” is not as difficult as you may think…. Let me help you a little. Start by asking another question “What happens when 4,5,6… (pls don’t try to achieve infinity it’ll make you miserable) persons demand to be married in Cayman?”
Answer :
If such a practice has been promoted, garnered support, commonly discussed, minimal acceptance, practically as harmonious as traditional western marriages (a very low bar indeed), … All of the foregoing would have defined a shift in the current norm. Essentially, it would be an idea who’s time has come.
Only then will the CJ have to return to his chambers.
So I say to you, the CJ has no further discriminated against the hypothetical entangling of a 3 persons than if his ruling read; Martians cannot marry earthlings whenever they arrive.
Congratulations! All people deserve the right to love who they choose.
What would Pástor Al and Rev. DD say?
So, I am now able to marry my brother or sister if we love each other?
Only if you’re from West Bay.
People have been doing that in Cayman all along
Or did you miss that part
This isn’t the Middle East dear. Check your compass.
Enjoy your Love for each other Ladies , raise your baby well as I am sure you will . Life will bring many ups and downs as you age , but Nothing can destroy True Love , My heartfelt Blessings to my Neighbors My friends . God Bless . Nothing else at this time in your lives Matters .Peace out .
The Cayman Islands has officially became THE FIRST CARIBBEAN ISLAND to make such a ruling against God!
What a disgrace!
Really horrible comment. People are people.
I’m sure if he’s that bothered he’ll come and tell us right away.
I’m sure that God will get around to sorting this ‘disgrace’ once he’s finished giving Aids to babies in Africa and causing catastrophic flooding in Mozambique…or is that the devil’s work? it’s all very confusing
Brian.
Don’t be confused by human beings’ behavior, whether that behavior is influenced by the Lord or by Lucifer.
Hold people accountable for their actions without trying to blame a third party. We all have the capacity to do good or bad; we ultimately choose what we want to for our own selfish reasons.
Back to the article. Adults should be allowed to do what they want with their time, money, assets and most importantly their body. You nor I should be allowed to dictate to another adult who they can marry, where and how they can marry, etc.
It is long over due to separate church from state affairs.
I take it God has been fine with the incest, and the wifebeating and Batabano and the child abuse going on here so far right?
Because allowing two people to get married is crossing the line of what God permits
You people have your priorities seriously out of order
Yes because spitting out numerous children out of wedlock has worked so well for you. Get a grip.
Nobody said 2 wrongs make 1 right.
Out of wedlock? I am offended! What if I want to have children outside of a marriage? What if I want to have children and then adopt the personal belief that I don’t actually have children? This is discrimination against single people and couples who don’t marry and people who practise ‘conscious unparenting’. I demand the rights to be married, unmarried, childless and a parent! It’s my truth and you can’t take it away from meeeee!
Complete disgrace.
What an honour
When you free your mind from the concepts of Gods, Angels, Demons and devils …Only then will you find true salvation.
Tell us of this “true salvation”. You forgot to elaborate on what you clearly found that we have all missed out on…
Wow. If I’ve learned anything today it’s how hateful and dim witted so many so called Christians are.
And … what commenters here are Christian? I’m an atheist and I think its wrong for the state to impose marriage recognition on people! Also, alot of people not Christian oppose this 😏
CNS: I cannot tell who you are or where exactly you are from your IP address, but I can see if a bunch of comments come from the same address. Most of the comments from this IP are strongly ultra-conservative Christian.
Thanks CNS – you caught the liars red handed trying to manipulate their own as usual. If only they had to try harder!
CNS..would you do this to the gay supporters as well???
CNS: Yes, if I suspected that they were pretending to be several completely different people. But this was particularly annoying coming from someone who uses the Bible prolifically to justify their arguments. ‘Thou shalt not lie.’
What about the same person posting over and over promoting the LGBT message ? Can you expose them too ?
CNS: It’s not the repetition of the message, it’s pretending to be someone you are not that is annoying.
I am surprised you are surprised!
Interesting, I am all about action and all of this gnashing of teeth is pointless. I can’t imagine that the Chief Justice can act in isolation like this, there has to be other processes to get this inacted. If the next step is the Legislative assembly, how long will the be able to delay tabling this before it reaches being tabled as a Law? Can they just have it sit there and never debate it and just let drag it out? Sorry Ladies. Maybe by that time Brexit would have happened and since we would no longer be a part of the EU the human rights aspect would fall away or take years to sort out……………
Wow that’s a lot of different processes you don’t understand. Some of them are even explained in the article and you still have no idea.
On your first point read the article “He said it was settled case law that the court has the power to make legislation which breaches the constitution, as he found was the case with the marriage law, compliant with the Bill of Rights.” Doesn’t need the LA. Conversely if a gay couple applies for a marriage licence and CIG refuses one they are going to get sued.
On your second membership of the EU and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights are different issues. Whether Britain leaves the EU or not it, and the BOTCs, are still subject to the jurisdiction of the ECHR.
Ok thanks shucks!!!
Read the FCO comment on this as quoted in the British papers. Google it
And I’m happy to live here and support this!
Of course you would, where you come from you would probably get murdered for supporting this😂😂😂
Anybody check on Julie up on the Brac …
Congratulations to these two ladies! I admire your strength.
This is an issue that is close to the hearts of my wife and I, and was one thing that had made us hesitant to make Cayman our long term home.
Homophobia is not a legitimate badge of “culture”, merely a sign of regressive and ignorant thinking. If you feel your culture depends on permitting hate for others, there is something very wrong with you.
This place has now become a real Joke!
Only people like you are the joke.
Feel free to leave. Maybe you would prefer a more Theocratic and god fearing country like Jamaica.
Why be hateful towards ANYBODY!
Governors and VIPs gathered for this ruling. In the middle of Lend no less.
The Premier, Cabinet, vulgar Opposition members and Governor, who all had ample opportunity to change the errors in law, instead fought against equality and justice for these women using our public money. They must apologize to and beg forgiveness of not only the people of the Cayman Islands for this needless spectacle and abuse of office, but to these women and all in their position. It has been established that there is a legal obligation not just to recognize same sex marriage, but to uphold and protect those rights. Further warning to any ministers contemplating a sermon rallying in opposition against this verdict that they now cross into the hate crime category and can/should be prosecuted under the Penal Code. This is what being on the wrong of history looks like – adjust accordingly, or go to jail!
Who give the judge power to legalise one of the ten commandments and leave the other 9.
You did, dummy.
Brothers and Sisters in Christ – God’s Word stands forever. Prophecies are being fulfilled. Matthew 24 –
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
There is more good news!
He is long sufferring. Though the world rejects Him He still wants to save them!
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Lol. Good luck with that.
So after all the hate has been said and all anger expelled……..we won!!!
I am finally equal to my brothers and sisters in choosing who I want to marry and being legal in my birth country.
For many years I wished for it, but was afraid to be my self, afraid of people gossiping, laughing of just hating against, I mean those fears still remain but just like the hate on here those fears will soon dissipate.
To two ladies thank you for all you have done for us all. To the Cayman Islands government thank you for showing your support to your community.
To the christians your time to hate another minority has gone, every decade you lose more and more credibility.
I personally don’t believe or see any good in tour doctrine but respect your beliefs more your need to learn to respect others.
Xx
The battle might be won, but the war is not over.
That sounds very Christian.
Not Christian, just a punishment from God, don’t forget about the Orlando club, the devil couldn’t hold such power.
CNS I believe the RCIPS should be notified of this IP Address as the writer seems to be making a threat with “don’t forget about the Orlando club”.
CNS: Though vile, I don’t think it quite reaches the threshold of being a threat. But I do think that people should take note of the fringe feeling on this subject and tone down the rhetoric.
“the devil couldn’t hold such power…” I am not sure what I find more astonishing; your view that the Devil, Lord of Darkness, couldn’t muster the power to persuade one individual to go into a club and shoot a lot of people, or your view that God, who sent his only Son to redeem man kind and forgives repentant sinners no matter how horrible their sins, would be behind the act (or why he would act through such an instrument rather than simply do something more fundamental like tornado or a catastrophic fire. I suppose hoping for at least some logic and consistency is over optimistic, but doenst it cross your mind that the being that you think flooded the entire world and saved only Noah and his family, or crushed Sodom and Gomorrah, might not e behind the Orlando shooting and it may just be the act of a mortal man who had some serious mental health issues or was blinded by hate for a minority? Out of interest, what’s your position on the Christchurch shooting? Act of the Devil, or God punishing the unbeliever? Genuinely curious.
I reverence God. So I’m not a church goer. Many Caymanians are that way. But one thing is for sure- it is a sin!
You mean the verb “revere”…”reverence” is the noun. How can you “reverence God”?
Adultery (cheating on your spouse), sex and children before & outside of marriage and divorce (except for unfaithfulness) all erode the family and society more than same sex relationships, but hey, it’s only me.
I’d like to challenge Anthony Eden, Al Suckoo and the ministers association to start a referendum in order to change the law that the above mentioned sins become illegal and people can start going to jail / fined severely for them. Because this is purely about protecting the family and society, right?
6:00 You can add spousal abuse (wife beating) and child sex abuse within the family to that list. In theory they’re both illegal but have become so ingrained in the culture here nobody bothers about them.
Why single out those two? You clearly have a political agenda. Because they do not support gay marriage you chose to attack them ? So much for the lgbt being respectful of others who do not share their views.
Oh shut the f*** up. Anthony Eden, lost any entitlement to that respect when he rambled on with his diatribe against LGBT people using some of the coarsest comparisons one can use. And he did this in his capacity as an elected member of parliament. Talk about an embarrassment…
So your position is the LGBT should be respectful of Mr Eden, when he can stand up in the LA and say that homosexuality is a precursor to paedophilia and bestiality, that they suck babies brains and that gays should be publicly whipped? But 6:00 am’s comments is an ad hominem attack? Hell, you have one great sense of proportionality and fairness.
This is purely about people unable to swallow their pride and admit they’ve been reading too many fairy tale stories. This is about the thousands of Christians who live on this Island that are not hurt and in dismay that this Christian nation would go against Gods will. Guess what? Bun your god and your stupid religion. Witness progress before your eyes bible thumpers.
Where is the fire and brimstone all the bible thumpers screamed about? Either your god doesn’t exist or don’t mind the gay lifestyle. Which one? I’m going with the latter.
I find it hard to believe there are still people in this world today who still believe whole heartedly that the earth is flat and that some fairy tale invisible wizard actually cares about who consenting adults choose to spend their lives with.
2 Peter 3:3 King James Version (KJV)
3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
Welcome to the Sodom and Gomorrah islands!
Well I will have Gomorrah, and you can have keep Sodom.
Well homosexuality was already legal so a bit late with the Sodom and Gommorah comment. This just enables gays to be married – or did you think not allowing them to marry was forcing them to be celibate, like all the heterosexuals in Cayman who wouldn’t dream of sex outside marriage let alone all those Gomorrah practices?
Eye roll
As a 23 year old Caymanian man, I will, push for the legalization of medicinal marijuana in Cayman. I firmly believe there are grounds, I believe, like the barring of same sex marriage, it is also a violation of my human rights to not have sovereignty over my own state of consciousness without fear and threat of incarceration. I am not gay, I am not a ‘ganja head’, i’m a realist and i believe I have no right to presume to tell another adult what to do with his/her life, to the extent he/she is not causing harm to others.
To legalize marijuana recreationally and medicinally in one sweep may or may not be too much at once in my opinion but I do believe there are NUMEROUS benefits to personal health, an alternative to the lottery ticket raffle of chemotherapy and radiation for anexample. So at minimum I believe this topic is worth debate and consideration in the highest court of our land because there is a valid argument to be made on behalf on marijuana. I believe given the time, resources, and platform I and/or several others can make a strong legally sound case to be considered.
I have no intentions of trying to turn cayman into a modern day Soddom and Gammora there are societal benefits to legal and fair access to marijuana, and we have precedent to prove as much with legalization happening in more and more places year by year. We would not be the first and we will not be the last, say what you would like about same sex marriage and ‘Adam and Steve’ and battyman this battyman that but this ruling in my opinion opens the door for us as an Island to have a dialogue about issues that have been swept under the proverbial rug. As someone said previously in the comments; a sex offenders registry and a look at national healthcare is another worthy topic of discussion.
Arguments and cases for strip clubs and legalized gambling can and should be made by whosoever believes in them and if there are solid grounds in there argument i believe they should be subject to debate like any other topic. Any argument that holds water holds water and should not be dismissed off the cuff without question.
Medicinal is already legal here. Just not recreational. Nothing wrong with pushing for it if thats what you believe in. I say consult a lawyer and go for it.
One barrier knocked over and legal weed next!
I don’t partake myself but can’t help to agree. It’s hypocritical for me to allow my staff smoke breaks to go smoke tobacco outside out doors, but condemn them for cannabis.
I believe relaxing with a plant you grew is a much better alternative than throwing up because you drank too much poison aka ethanol aka alcohol.
Well said Mr. Ebanks.
And you bible bashers believe being forced to give 10% of salary to a man in a building so he/she can wear a Rolex and drive a fancy car will save your soul?
Lets go back to the good old days, before Christianity when we had loads of different God’s and sacrifices so it would rain, crops would grow and have orgies, now that’s a religion.
Oh wait you still believe in fairytales, Adam and Eve, before them Christianity didn’t exist.
I really can’t wait for the next twenty years when you bible basher aren’t around trying to control our rights, beliefs and have no involvement in our politics..
You force your beliefs on us.
Most of us came from Africa via the slave trade, and forced to take up Christianity from the West mainly the Catholic Church (one of the wealthyest countries in the world). Oh wait the slave trade never happened either but Adam and Eve did!
I’m pretty sure the Aztecs and Incas didn’t exist either..
As for the ruling, congrats to these two ladies for standing up for their rights.
Christianity was forced on the slaves to make them obedient and we still a eat that suppa
“Those who toil and live in want all their lives are taught by religion to be submissive and patient while here on earth, and to take comfort in the hope of a heavenly reward. But those who live by the labour of others are taught by religion to practise charity while on earth, thus offering them a very cheap way of justifying their entire existence as exploiters and selling them at a moderate price tickets to well-being in heaven. Religion is opium for the people.” Vladimir Lenin
Written over 100 years ago, yet the parallels to modern Cayman, with its political class handing out turkeys at Christmas and make work jobs as charity, and demonizing threats to the established social order, be they gays or foreigners, to maintain the established way of things, are striking.
It never was 10% of your earnings….I.E $$$$
The Lord only ever required 10% of your TIME. Imagine that.
Money was created by man, not the Lord. SO the churches all have you lot fooled.
ha ha.
1) There is a negative correlation between intelligence and strong religious beliefs. For the bible thumpers here, that means, statistically on average, you are less intelligent.
2) Would absolutely love to see you post this hate in any other country and see the backlash that comes your way. Cayman is behind in many ways – this was a nice step forward.
The bigots are out in full force today.
It is about time. Everyone member of our community should be entitled to the same rights.
Yes, agreed. Now legalize ganja.
Human rights. Simple as that.
The legalization of a basic human right has been granted, and most comments are asking for strip clubs and gambling next. How is this equal? How about the next step be a sex offenders registry, are maybe free healthcare for our retirees?
The fact that the “Christians” of this island can spew so much hate to consenting adults but turn their cheek to child predators in our community speaks volumes! Accept that Cayman is a very diverse island. Not everyone is a Christian or share the same beliefs and that does not mean they should not be accepted or should not have the same rights as those who take advantage of that very right.
The amount of cheating, abusing, divorcing between heterosexual persons on this very island is a joke in itself, because they are the same people preaching bible verses about LGBT+.
Ignorance is a choice and I am happy my generation will be the one to change these islands to be more accepting of others. And before the assumption is made, YES I am a born caymanian from a defendant of many other born caymanians.
And you may be saying that there is no “cheating, abusing, divorcing” between homosexual couples?
Geeesh!
Such a polarising debate this is.
I did not say anything of the sort in the above statement. The fact that you would add a narrative to what is so clearly stated above proves that you have no valid argument for your homophobia and prejudice. The amount of “Christians” displaying their HATRED on these post so publicity show the IGNORANCE in this society.
Yoda ?
I believe all the suspiciously similar comments regarding strip clubs and gambling are being made by religious trolls to ‘prove’ their stupid point that this will cause the moral collapse of our society. Sad.
Very well said. Such a pity a big percentage of your fellow Caymanians will NEVER see the logic. They are blinded by the ‘good book’ which is nothing more than a load of fairy tales.
All you need is love doo doo doo doo doo ????
Without the book, God is God, and your time has not come yet. You and your supporters will be judge for every comment you have made that has misled others to sin ☝?
That book variously preaches hatred, murder, slavery etc. I think I prefer to be judged for supporting two adults who want to live their own lives with religious fanatics imposing their views on them.
I have never seen so many Christians preach hate in the last 24 hrs.
Love thy neighbor!! Stop the hate. Hate is not Caymanian.
Civil partnerships would have been accepted. But we could not accept this now look where we are.
Justice has been served.
Am I to make the assumption that 88 of you that downvoted are more comfortable with pedophiles running rampant in our community and our elderly suffering than to have consenting adults be able to do what many of you take for granted?! Appalling
Yawn. Don’t take the bible so literally – and please consider the era in which it was written.
A.A. Jacobs tried to follow all the 700+ rules within the bible:
“The Rules
At the beginning of the year, I wrote down every rule, every guideline, every suggestion, every nugget of advice I could find in the Bible. It’s a very long list. It runs 72 pages. More than 700 rules.
Some rules were wise, some completely baffling. Some were baffling at first, then wise. Some were wise first then baffling. Here, some of the highlights, broken down by category.
MOST UNEXPECTEDLY WISE AND LIFE-ENHANCING RULES
Keep the sabbath. As a workaholic (I check my emails in the middle of movies), I learned the beauty of an enforced pause in the week. No cell phones, no messages, no thinking about deadlines. It was a bizarre and glorious feeling. As one famous rabbi called it, the sabbath is a “sanctuary in time.”
“Let your garments be always white” Ecclesiastes 9:8. I chose to follow this literally – I wore white pants, a white shirt and a white jacket. This was one of the best things I did all year. I felt lighter, happier, purer. Clothes make the man: You can’t be in a bad mood when you’re dressed like you’re about to play the semi-finals at Wimbledon.
No gossip. When you try to go on a gossip diet, you realize just how much of our conversations involve negative speech about others. But holding your tongue is like the verbal equivalent of wearing white. I felt cleaner and untainted.
No images. If you interpret the second commandment literally, then it tells you not to make a likeness of anything in heaven, on earth, or underwater. Which pretty much covers it. So I tried to eliminate photos, TV, movies, doodling. It made me realize we’re too visual in this culture. It made me fall in love once again with words, with text.
Give thanks. The Bible says to thank the Lord after meals. I did that. Perhaps too much. I got carried away. I gave thanks for everything – for the subway coming on time, for the comfortableness of my couch, etc. It was strange but great. Never have I been so aware of the thousands of little things that go right in our lives.
MOST BAFFLING RULES TO THE 21ST CENTURY MIND
(Note: See bottom of this for possible explanations of some of these rules)
You shall not wear a “garment of cloth made of two kinds of stuff.” (Leviticus 19:19). At first, I thought this applied to any mixed fiber. So I cleared my closet of all polycotton T-shirts. But it turns out the truly forbidden combo is mixing wool and linen. Sadly, my only good suit – my wedding suit — contained both wool and linen. So I had to embargo it for a year.
If you are in a fistfight with another man, and his wife grabs your private parts, you “shall cut off her hand.” (Deuteronomy 25:11-12). Another rule you won’t find engraved outside many courthouses.
If you suspect your wife is cheating, you shall bring her to a priest, who will mix a potion of barley, water, and dust, which the woman shall drink. If she’s cheating, her stomach will swell. (Numbers 5:11-20).
If you set your slave free after six years, but he decides to stay, then you shall bring him to the doorpost and bore a hole in his ear. (Exodus 21:5).
RULES THAT I SUCCESSFULLY KEPT THE ENTIRE YEAR WITHOUT VIOLATING EVEN ONCE
You shall not marry your wife’s sister (Leviticus 18:18) It helps that my wife doesn’t have a sister.
You shall not plant your field with two kinds of seed (Leviticus 19:19). I did plant some cucumber seeds in some pots. But I kept it purely cukes.
You shall not eat eagles, vultures, black vultures, red kites, black kites, ravens, horned or screech owl, gull or any kind of hawk, the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.
Do not become a shrine prostitute (Deuteronomy 23;17) I didn’t become any kind of prostitute.
MOST DIFFICULT TO FOLLOW
You shall not trim the corners of your beard (Leviticus 19:27) My rabbinical beard became wildly uncomfortable, plus I was subjected to every beard joke in the history of facial hair, with about 412 ZZ Top references.
You should not lie on a bed where a mensturating woman has lain, and you can’t sit on a chair where she has sat (Leviticus 15:20). That knocks out all subways and restaurants. See the Handy Seat section for my attempt to follow this.
You shall smash idols. The ban on idolatry is such a huge part of the Bible, I figured I should try to smash something. I ended up smashing my wife’s fake Oscar statuette. But it felt like a hollow gesture, and it annoyed my wife by getting gold flakes all over the rug.
Put to death men and women who commit adultery. Though I did manage to figure out a way to stone adulterers. One adulterer in particular. A grumpy seventysomething man I met in the park. I used pebbles.
RULES VIOLATED AT LEAST ONE TIME PER DAY
You shall not covet. This is like asking someone not to breathe. Especially in New York. New York is a city that runs on coveting. On a typical day, I covet everything from Jonathan Safran Foer’s speaking fee (allegedly $15,000) to our friend’s sprawling backyard in the suburbs.
You shall not lie. Once I started keeping track, the number of lies was astounding. I lie to everyone – strangers, my wife, my three-year-old son (“No, we can’t watch TV. It’s broken.”)
You shall stand in the presence of the elderly. I did try to follow this at certain points in my journey. Like the time I ate dinner in a Florida restaurant at 5 p.m. That was the highest concentration of elderly people in America. So I stood up from my chair every time a white-haired person entered the room, which meant I was bouncing up and down like a pogo stick.
You shall not utter the name of another God. English is filled with the names of pagan gods – even the days of the week are named for them: Thursday, for the Norse god of thunder Thor.
Be slow to anger (Proverbs 19:11). My anger isn’t of the shouting, pulsing, vein-in-the-forehead variety. It’s more of long-lasting resentment. I never fully got it under control, but the best method for putting the brakes on my anger came from the story of Jonah. (See the book for details)
THE BAFFLING RULES (KIND OF, SORT OF) EXPLAINED
There are two schools of thought on the baffling rules. Well, there are countless schools of thought on them. But I’ll keep it to two for simplicity.
a) Many baffling rules have no rational explanation. We have to accept what God tells us, because He knows better than we do, just as a parent knows better than a child.
b) The baffling rules actually do have a rational explanation. They either made perfect logical sense back in biblical time, or they yield tangible benefits today, or both. Here, the spin on the baffling rules cited above (note: I’m not saying I buy all this spin, but I present it to you to judge):
–No mixing of wool and linen. This taught the ancient Israelites to keep things separate, good training for not intermarrying.
–If a woman grabs her husband’s opponent, she shall have her hand cut off. The hand-chopping part was meant as a metaphor: The woman actually just had to pay a monetary fine. And why? Because she had embarrassed her husband and his opponent.
–Make a suspected adulteress drink holy water. This was early marriage counseling. If the woman is, indeed, innocent of adultery, all she has to do is drink some water with a little dirt in it, and her husband’s mind will be put at ease. Marriage saved.
–Drill a hole in a slave’s ear if he refuses freedom. A man, it’s argued, should embrace freedom. An ear hole is a mark of humiliation, another reason why he should leave his master.”
1 Corinthians 2:14
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
What the Jesus Christ does that stupid gibberish mean, 7:20?
It means the ordinary man cannot interpret the bible, because its “spiritually discerned” – so basically it means whatever your pastor/priest/minister says it means. Which given we are reading words translated and re-translated, and themselves recorded hundreds of years after the vents in question, gives ample room of interpretation. Get 100 theologians from different churches – but all professing tobe Christian – in a room and see if they have a consistent interpretation of just about any biblical text.
Why this is a sad day for Cayman?
1. The constitution is flawed in many many areas. When citizens cannot defend themselves the constitution is a rogue!
2. When the politicians rushed to build a monument for themselves (Alden, Curt, Charles, etc, etc) they illicited the expertise of non-proven constitution lawyers who made a mockery of the Cayman Islands!
3. The PPM wasn’t a bit prepared to have the input of the constitutional practioners vet
The contents but rather they took it to their dummies in the voting public.
4. For a sitting Judge alone to make a ruling on our constitution to have the laws and parts of the constitution changed to subscribe to one group is a big slap in the face of the politicians and the electorate. What do cayman need a constitution anyway! All we need is the judges to make decisions for it! Scrap the F….k..g constitution and Bill of rights and strengthen the laws of the Land!
5. When Cayman is looking to amend the laws and constitution please have more Caribbean law makers and constitutionalist involved. Politicians, keep your sorrowful backsides out of law. I’m sure we can find a more qualified AG to advise government that who we presently have!
6. I wish to recommend that it be enshrined in the constitution and law that all judges be elected by the people for 3 years hence elections thereafter!
7. This case as well as some others should be thrown back into the lap of the CJ and give him 3 to 4 other CJs from around the Caribbean who are well versed in matters of such magnitude to come to a decision on this and many other cases.
8. One judge, determining the future of Cayman on matters of such magnitude is perprosperous and dangerous to the well being and stability of a nation. XXXX
9. Now it’s time that Politicians should be held more accountable. I wonder what will happen if we went back to the 70s when politicians worked for the betterment of their country and was paid a stipend? Do anyone think we would get the fence sitters and jacka…. we currently have? We currently have 18 persons that fit that category! The one we have that isn’t liked should lead this country.
10. Congratulations to the losers: politicians, religious leader and flocks, voters, illeterates, fence sitters, and those of us who could care less for a tribal country. The problems we are experiencing is developed right in the Administration Building! We have a set of CS that’s diverse in their thinking and ethnicity and God only knows where they are really from and what their goals are!
11. Only people with balls will change this madness in Cayman!
Apparently, the bible is not for the uneducated ?
Read the verse that says man should not lie down with another man. I guess you think it means only men but because it doesn’t say women that they can lie down with each other. It’s what people do who don’t want to believe in God, make excuses instead of actually studying the Bible and finding out why things were written the way they were. But that’s expected.
We know what it means darling. We just really don’t have the time or desire to follow everything in a book written all those many hundreds/thousands of years ago. Perhaps it worked to follow all those rules way back when people didn’t think for themselves, but in an age where logic, rationality and equality are becoming more common, there is no place for unnecessary hate and the violation of human rights and freedom that that book condones in many of it’s books, chapters and verses. Love and Equality will always win, sooner or later. Something all those hate-filled so-called Christians need to understand.
That same leviticus instructs to kill adulterers yet ee abolished the death penalty decades ago..
If you are the Biblical scholar you imply you are, you will know that those laws written in Leviticus (for the Levites) were primarily for the priesthood. It had absolutely nothing to do with the general population, any more than it has to do with ours today.
Be well, and God bless.
Keep making excuses for your stupid book.
How truly sad for you and your children who will wander leaning and relying on those hallow promises of those who mean them harm!
Based on the explanation behind this ruling any number of consenting adults should now be able to get married so that they can enjoy the family life that they desire and deserve.
Wow the marriage officers will make some money now. Never thought that I would see this day. Health care need to more assistance for future aids….
We done, let’s see the reaction of the Neanderthals that are the LA
Typo WELL DONE. ..
A sad day for the Cayman Islands. One way or the other God will prevail!
Have you not thought that the Chief’s decision might in fact be the manifestation of that will?
I think its really God’s will to see who is for or against this sinful lifestyle. Then we will all be judge for our decisions.
My mind just got blown.
Congratulations ladies, wonderful news.
Don’t hide behind your god to justify your intolerance and hate…. the very things Jesus told you not to do.
Which one though?
Which god? A large number of them haven’t been prevailing recently.
Not the spaghetti monster. He is happy.
Isn’t it a part of the foundation of your beliefs that nothing happens unless God allows it to happen????? Well, God allowed it to happen… So God must be okay with it for whatever reason. So let’s move on.
God may allow evil to reign, but it is a TEST …
Ever heard of THE JUDGEMENT.
Do you love the order of nature or the order of ego and its selfish desires???
It’s a test. Of course. Perhaps go easy on the drugs for a couple of days?
Seriously though, you should read the judgment. Friday’s one by the Chief Justice that is. It explains in simple language why laws must be rational and not the preserve of religious bigots.
Judgment
Go Cayman! Let hate the homophobic hateful bigots heads explode.
what a sorrowful day for this country. Unna naw see nutin yet.
Really its illiterate statements like this that hold the Cayman Islands in the past….
I’m caymanian. I’m straight. I’m male. I’m 50. I think all people should be treated as equals, regardless of sexual orientation. Caymanians that are so incredibly against homosexuals need to get over it. Why should you care what two consenting adults do in privacy? Focus on your own relationships. Focus on your own families. Take care of your own. Stop trying to enforce your religious and personal beliefs on others. Live your own life and let other people live there’s.
We can start with you.
Lovely. Lets respond to a post saying people should be compassionate and live and let live with a threat. Sort of summons up the position perfectly.
I think this is my favourite part of the ruling:
“He also made it clear that many inequities have existed in the name of tradition but neither tradition nor religion could form the “rational basis for a law”, and he pointed out that marriage is a secular institution.”
The magical space fairy has no role in making laws. Sure to be many people spitting feathers over this.
Party down Pedro Castle road tonight!
Cayman is Not a Christian community…but anyway… VIOLENCE will change all of this eventually but in the mean time legalize all the other so called BAD things…Ganja, Gambling, strip clubs etc…make it equal for everyone since we talking about HUMAN RIGHTS
Human Rights (do as you feel) versus God’s Law !
Ganja caused me to eat all the doritos.
Alcohol caused me to blackout and throw up all over myself.
Somehow the latter is ok for society 7 days a week but I’m a criminal for the first.
Man I love all these hateful comments what a joke, most of you bible basher are way worse than the gray community,, cheating of your wife’s, girlfriends, molesting kids, assaulting women and many other offense.
Come on you read a bible that was written a couple of hundreds years after Jesus died. Don’t forget from the age of 13yr till 30yrs there is no writings of his life, when the Bible starts again he was found infront of a brothel with a hooker. I wonder what he was doing for all those years? Hmm
The church and all you so called Christians need to grow up, you bunch of hypocritical donkeys.
Oh my don’t you feel empowered with that foul mouthed tirade. Are all religious people doing those things that you just described ? Isn’t this a bit hypocritical to slander and defame everything religious but complain when people do it against the LGBT community that their rights are being breached ?
whats rights did you have when you went to sleep last night that you now don’t have as of this morning.
I no longer have the right to tell others how they should live their lives.
You bunch of hypocrites, well let’s see how long you going to last, because you know you are living a lie to your own self.if you don’t believe in God that’s your business, I do and God made Adam and Eve. He did not made Adam and Steve. All of you are gays by choice . What a mess. You will always be scorned and scruffed at and the poor children you are confusing you will answer to God for them. Now that’s its legal let’s see what you will do with it now. Maybe this might cause you to get straight.
You must also beleive that Disney movies are really as well, not fairy tales..
The middle ages called, they miss your razor-sharp analysis!
He thought he was being clever with the Adam and Steve cliche. Bless. “All of you are gays by choice”. Mmmm. Let’s hear 9.18’s personal story of how he decided to walk the straight path one day….
What about the talking snake? What does he have to say about it?
Hey now. I am Christian, and I don’t cheat on my wife or my girlfriend.
Your ignorance of the Bible is astonishing! I recommend you read it before you blindly comment on it. You will come to know that you need Jesus’s forgiveness and help. You know what? He will save your wicked soul, if you ask in time. I hope you seek Him.
cool story bro. So just wondering, whens that damnation supposed to hit? I was promised fire and brimstone, 7 plagues, a few natural catastrophe but so far its just been a normal Saturday morning. I’m starting to think I was sold a false bill of goods
What purpose does the constitution serve if the courts makes a mockery of it?
The courts upheld the constitution. You have it wrong!
He is actually enforcing it. Article 14 doesn’t prohibit gay marriage, but instead ensures hetereosexuals have a right to marriage. But Article 16 says government cannot discriminate. So in saying the Marriage Law is discriminatory and must be changed, he is not doing anything contrary to Article 14 and entirely consistent with Article 16. But don’t let the letter of the law rather than what you want it to say interfere with your opinion.
I think he knows more about the law than you do.
Go on then. Explain the legal basis in which 6:17 is right and the Chief Justice is wrong.
crickets….
Eden and Suckoo must not sleep tonight.
Don’t forget Arden Mclean. He was one of those that was against Ezzard because he had said that he would support a civil union
All MLAs that rallied against this should resign. The LA members are IN CHARGE of drafting our laws, and this further demonstrates how disqualified they are to be in that position.
That lady over in the sister islands should definitely resign…how is her driver these days anyway?
Violence will change everything eventually 😉
The constitution clearly defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The people of the Cayman Islands voted for this and the decision by the CJ to effectively declare himself as God is regrettable and unfortunate. If the CJ believes that his job is to subvert the will of the people of the Cayman Islands he should resign and make way for someone that is willing to respect the expressed will of the people.
@6:03 pm – you may want to actually read the article before commenting. The Chief Justice explained his authority to amend the Law.
Could not have said it better. Shame on the CJ.
I say he is the messiah and I should know I’ve followed a few.
It actually says “opposite sex” which is prejudicial to all gender identifications and orientations.
They tried that with the judiciary “respecting the expressed will of the people” in Germany from 1933 – 45. You should have a read about it – it didn’t work out so well. Now we go with an independent judiciary upholding the law. Democracy and the independent judiciary respect the minority even if the majority (allegedly) do not.
Whilst you’re at it, have a read of the CJ’s judgment too – you might then understand why everything you’ve said about the Constitution and law is wrong.
You comment is a straw man argument that will only convince the uninformed.
Get over it you Bible thumping bigot. Leave my country with your arrogance and bigoted ways. You Christians are so very un-Christian like.
You got it wrong…It’s very christian like!
That’s the results of obtaining your morals from a book that contains as much hate and division as the bible.
If everyone had stop reading when a talking snake suggested to a naked woman to take a bite of an apple. The world would probably be a better place.
Though, humans would probably find a talking giraffe.
Spot on 100% my brother. Meet at both lodge’s to discuss further…
Finally! Cayman Islands, welcome to the year 2000! You’re almost 20 years late but better now than never! Congratulations Vicki and Chantelle on your win but most of all your courage and tenacity in fighting discrimination to make Cayman a better place to live for all.
These were the rights of the 1970’s/80’s/and 90’s in the “civilized” world. A difficult adjustment ahead for those pastors now facing jail if they continue to sermonize against moral and legal justice.
This is what you get when non caymanians are put in charge of most Government functions.
Yeah. Common sense.
What? Stuff actually working?!
I wonder how many people complaining that this is a breach of the constitution have actually read the constitution….
It took two women, as we draw Women’s History month to a close! This is great!!
By reading these comments, we see the Christians and the Bible-thumpers show their true colors of hatefulness and judgement.
And fear. Fear of being wrong.
Everyone wishes they could defeat death, and that’s the pastor’s carrot on a stick for the sheep.
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Hate what is wrong and love what is right.
Cayman had YEARS, to rectify this issue on their own, the UK was patient, the MLAs sat and did nothing and now the courts have decided
As my dear mother says
Ears don’t hear, ass will feel
Welcome to the big leagues
its almost as if anyone with even a slight idea as to what the law clearly states and the precedent around the common law world could have seen this coming from a mile and a half away
I’ve only been saying it for the better part of 10 years
As soon as anyone challenged the flimsy marriage law and the clear discrimination on the part of the government they would get equality
I guess I should be thanking the PPM for writing their constitution so well
Diogenes of Cayman
Ignorance seems to be the religion of choice here. I am happy it has made you full of bliss.
NEWS FLASH
After 4 hours of the earth shattering news that Gays can get married in the Cayman Islands, God has done nothing….
Our reporters are asking for a comment from him…. “What they can’t find him, have you looked down the back of the sofa?” Our intrepid reporter is telling me that either God does not exist or he doesn’t care about gays getting married.
Back to you in the studio
Galatians 6:7
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Including you
I’m more a Galaxians person myself.
Legalize Marijuana and bring strip clubs to the islands!
And casinos?
Anything is possible until we get someone who is not above the law.
Free the herb!