LGBTI community comes out of its shell
‘Out of Our Shells’ march, 7 April 2019
(CNS): Hundreds of people came out on Sunday to support the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community for the first ever ‘Out of Our Shells’ march in Cayman. In a very peaceful and colourful event after several days of unpleasant attacks from lawmakers aimed at them, the LGBTI community demonstrated they were undeterred in pushing for an end to discrimination and hiding from mainstream society. The event was organised by Colours Cayman, a local advocacy group for LGBTI issues, and was promoted as not just a celebration of the legalisation of same-sex marriage but also as a response to the backlash from politicians.
Officials from Colours said that it was about the LGBTI banding and walking together to be seen. “To remind those few that we are many and that we are proud, to acknowledge our existence and hold our heads high. No longer will we be made invisible,” Colours said in promoting the event on social media.
Until relatively recently the LGBTI community in Cayman has been very much in its shell, but despite the attacks against them from those in power, a new generation is less prepared to stay hidden. The community is becoming increasingly visible, and is seeing much more support from the community in general for that visibility and to end the discrimination and support their rights to equality.
The people who joined in the ‘Out of Our Shells’ walk ended up at the Legislative Assembly steps close to where just six people had demonstrated against the chief justice’s same-sex marriage ruling last week, and where one person had called for death to homosexuals and another described LGBT people as an abomination.
Last week lawmakers also urged the deputy governor to enforce the public decency laws, as both Education Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly and MLA Anthony Eden raised questions about public displays of affection by LGBTI residents and tourists. During the opening of parliament on Friday O’Connor-Connolly had compared George Town to Sodom and Gomorrah, with cruise passengers bringing their alternative lifestyles.
Category: Local News
On June 9, 2016, the European Court of Human Rights delivered its decision on the case of Chapin and Charpentier v. France (n°40183/07). It questioned the French courts’ decision to annul the “marriage of Bègles” contracted in 2004 between two men, in violation of French law.
By this decision, the European Court of Human Rights unanimously recalled that the European Convention on Human Rights does not include the right to marriage for homosexual couples, neither under the right to respect for private and family life (art. 8) nor the right to marry and to found a family (art. 12).
More precisely, this new decision confirms a series of judgements and particularly recalls that:
The question of same-sex marriage is “subject to the national laws of the Contracting States” (§ 36, making reference to the Schalk and Kopf v. Austria judgement (n°30141/04);
Article 12 confirmed the traditional concept of marriage, which is the union between a man and a woman and “does not impose an obligation on the governments of the Contracting States to grant same-sex couples access to marriage” (§ 36, making reference to Gas and Dubois v. France, n°25951/07, § 66);
Article 12 “cannot be interpreted as imposing such an obligation on the governments of the Contracting States to grant same-sex couples access to marriage”. This recall of the recent judgements of Hämäläinen v. Finlande [GC] (n°37359/09), and Oliari and others v. Italy (n°18766/11 et 36030/11) has a very strong impact since it recognises the theoretical limits of the interpretation of the right to marry (§ 39);
In regard to the right to respect for private life (guaranteed by Article 8) and the principle of non-discrimination (Article 14), “States are still free (…) to restrict access to marriage to different-sex couples”, (making reference to Schalk and Kopf ,§ 108 and Gas and Dubois, § 66)
States “enjoy a certain margin of appreciation as regards the exact status conferred by alternative means of recognition” of same-sex relationships, and its differences concerning the rights and obligations conferred by marriage (§ 58).
The ECLJ welcomes this decision, which it considers consistent with the correct interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights. The ECLJ notes, however, that this decision does not totally rule out the possibility of a future development in the Court position in favour of a right to same-sex marriage as part of a right “to the recognition” of stable relationships. It also recognises that such an interpretation cannot be based on the wording of the Convention.
The question of same-sex marriage pushes the Court to the limits of its ability to interpret the Convention. These limits are marked by the very wording of this treaty and by the explicit will of the majority of its Member States. Although it is still appropriate to apply the Convention to the changes in society, on the contrary, it is inappropriate to pretend changing the very content of the Convention.
For further reading, see particularly: G. Puppinck, Same Sex Unions at the ECHR, 20 April 2015.
Many here who profess to be interested in upholding the law should take note of this provision of the Cayman Penal Code:
133. A person who,with intent to insult the modesty of any woman, utters any word, makes any sound or gesture or exhibits any object intending that such word or sound shall be heard, or that such gesture or object shall be seen by such woman, or intrudes upon the privacy of such woman, commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for three years.
I believe quite a number of persons have made utterances with the intent to insult the modesty and intrude upon the privacy of two women in particular lately.
Try being a women and walking anywhere in Cayman. Daily event.
I listened to the members of the LA on Radio Cayman and it sounded to me like shameless pandering to voters toward the next election.
Forget the out of control dump or the unnecessary dock lets pander to the religious and bash gays as that is always safe, forget they are our brothers, sisters, sons, daughters just forget all that.
The Christ in which I believe would show love and tolerance something lacking in Cayman churches and in the LA.
It is interesting how the government line is pushed with misinformation, fear mongering and xenophobia. Once this is out there, the government “thumbs up” generators get to work on a more productive scale than seen during normal business.
It is in their interest to divide and produce animosity … expats don’t provide votes, Gay people are an open challenge to the status quo …ie The gravy train.
This is long overdue for a change …New blood, new thinking is needed in Cayman Politics.
*EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS: HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE IS NOT A HUMAN RIGHT*
*Judgment of the Human Rights Court of Strasbourg -France*
*Unanimously, the World Court of Human Rights has established, verbatim, that “there is no right to homosexual marriage.” The 47 judges of the 47 countries of the Council of Europe, which are members of the full Court of Strasbourg (the world’s most important human rights court), issued a statement of great relevance that has been surprisingly silenced by information progressivism and its area of influence. In fact, unanimously, the 47 judges approved the ruling that “there is no right to homosexual marriage.” The sentence was based on a myriad of philosophical and anthropological considerations based on natural order, common sense, scientific reports and, of course, positive law.Within the latter, in particular, the judgment was based on Article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This is equivalent to the articles of human rights treaties, as in the case of 17 of the Pact of San José and nº 23 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In this historic but not disclosed, Resolution, the Court decided that the concept of family not only contemplates “the traditional concept of marriage, that is, the union of a man and a woman”, but also that they should not be imposed on governments to “obligation to open marriage to persons of the same sex”. As for the principle of non-discrimination, the Court also added that there is no discrimination, since “States are free to reserve marriage only to heterosexual couples.”*
It is important and absolutely necessary to spread this kind of news because governments and sympathizers of such lobbies will not want people to know. Help spread if you want! Obviously, it does not interest the media to publicize this news.
This case wasn’t brought under the European Convention. It was brought under Cayman’s Constitution.
Read. The. Judgment.
Silenced? Its readily available on the internet. Talking about silencing and not disclosing, can’t help but notice you left out the bit where the Court said it wasn’t discrimination provided the state offered an alternative to marriage that conferred the same civil rights. The Chief Justice made the same point here.
OK shall we really tell it how it is and don’t pick something off a Christian website?
i. There is no “World Court of Human Rights”.
ii. There is the European Court of Human Rights which has 47 Judges from the 47 different Countries.
iii. This was posted on this website back in 2017. It is very odd that if you search the wording in the post all you get is various nutty Christian websites and CNS.
https://caymannewsservice.com/2017/11/eu-accepts-local-lgbt-activists-legal-petition/
iv. I believe it is Article 17 and not the “case of 17 of the Pact of San Jose”.
v. I believe that the case refers to the decision in Chapin and Charpentier v. France. 47 Judges did not sit on that case. I can’t speak french but here is the decision:
https://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2016/504.html
vi. What is more important is the case of Oliari v Italy which can be found here https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-156265%22]}
vii. Oliari held that because the Italian state had failed to provide Civil Partnerships they had breached Mr Oliari’s Human Rights in particular Article 8. It is therefore a minimum requirement that a state has civil partnerships.
viii. As Cayman does not have civil partnerships and as the marriage law is contrary to Constitution the CJ rewrote the Law.
ix. So while it is correct to say that there is no right to marriage there is a human right to have something akin to marriage. So that is where we are.
the post is pretty nutty, i can’t read the french case of Chapin but i doubt it says many of the things above.
Well done, marchers!! It’s about time we came out of the dark “moral” ages! I am a heterosexual female Caymanian, born & raised here from Caymanian parents and I have seen and heard way too much intolerance and ignorance on this subject during my almost 60 years of life here! Haters, for pete’s sake, PLEASE educate yourself more on the subject of sexuality! It’s just plain silly to think that a person cannot be born with a sexual preference that does not fit into your little cookie cutter world. Nature does not mean for all of us to be standard issue female & male – as an example, Google the word “hermaphrodite” and you will see that! Nature wants all of us here, that’s why we’re here, each of us with all of our “imperfections”. This world is so full of hate. Sad thing that you contribute to it by criticizing how a person is made! Wonder what your own special little “problem” might be, hmm?
Was permission given for this march??
It is a right to peacefully assemble.
Speaks volumes.
Assemble but not to conduct a march..
I believe “March” is implied in “peaceably assemble”. As long as you’re not violent or destructive of property, you can protest however you want.
You have to get permission to stage a march.
Yes, GOD said it was a great idea and gave it 3 thumbs up!
GOD was concerned why it hadn’t happened sooner.
Thank GOD for allowing this and not smiting anyone.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL…
You will regret that statement when the trumpets sound !
I’d love to be there to see the look on your face when you realize you’re just a pile of dead earth fertilizer in the end.
Nope!
Looks like some one has after hours access to a lot of Government computers. Mac?
Hundreds??? I counted all the people in the photo and got much less that 100..Where were the other people??
The photo is of less than HALF the marchers. The first group set off from Cayman Creperie and the second half stayed behind, then the second group set off whilst the first group had refreshments at Bread and Chocolate.
What a crock! You want to tell me that they all got together for a photo after half of them were gone?..geesh, you can’t make this stuff up!
It’s what happened…
Why on Sunday? Was this to through it in the face of the Christian community?
Secondly was this march registered and approved by the Government?
You complain when the government approves the sale of “your” island to foreigners and now you’re concerned about government approval for a peaceful demonstration? Go back to your hypocritical hut on the side of the island no one wants to live on.
You have the right to peaceably assemble/protest. Government approval is not required.
Nope, they just need to get permission from the Chief Justice…Easy peasy!
Irony, oh the irony. LGBTQ community rallying to Bob Marley’s music. Let that settle in for a second…
Should had spin two Buju tune.
Now that would have ironic! Talk about reclaiming words…
Did he not sing about love for all mankind?
Oh my poor child. Just like the modern entertainers get ‘outraged’ by Donald Trump playing their music at rallies, I don’t think this Devout Ethiopian Orthodox rastaman would be too thrilled about the context in which his music was being played. I can’t speak for him but speak to most rastas and you will get your answer.
Know your history…
I was happy to be there and was pleasantly surprised by all those beeping support as they passed! It really showed that there are so many people on this island who want to see progress, we just needed to come out of our shells to receive that support.
I hope that the hundreds referred to in this article was not based on the picture also published for the article.
This is less than a hundred people, all caucasian, most of them from U.S. Do you really believe locals in record numbers will support a law that will immorally affect our schools and way of life? Never
Your schools? How do you figure that? Also, your way of life won’t be impacted at all by giving others equal rights to marry. Get out of here with those moronic comments.
Some will never understand. Too stubborn.Sad but true.
how is gay marriage going to affect our schools? Please, enlighten me! The only way it will have a negative impact on our schools is by intolerant people such as yourself brainwashing our kids that a minority should be discriminated against! And for those kids who are also gay and afraid to come out to their family b/c they’re scared of being disowned! Shame on you!
If all you saw were white people then you are color blind. There were all races and nationalities represented including many Caymanians. Get your facts straight before commenting. Your way of life? Really???? Another childish and ridiculous comment.
“Many Caymanian” isn’t that a strange statement 3:43? Is what you really meant was that the majority were foreigners ? Well then why are we then legislating for foreigners to be able to marry the same sex? You don’t get it right.
Majority over minority is that the way it works. Ignorance ya bliss
A reason why Caymanians would be afraid to seen protesting in public is for fear that they will be outcast by their family or be subject to violence – especially at school. How’s that for morality?
I am caymanian and I was there to support the rally. There is many caymanians there as well.
Lol
Only if Caymanian’s were as good at getting jobs as they are hating on the gays.
Can’t get a job because of hungry belly expats.
especially all of those protesting expats!
I guess you can’t be white, speak without a thick island accent and still be considered Caymanian.
What utter rot 2:49. Judging from your comment you evidently weren’t there in person like I was (I am Caymanian FYI). A good 60% of those there WERE Caymanian. Also since when cant you have caucasian Caymanians for that matter!? What an ignorant comment. You need to enter the 21st century. The younger generation of Caymanians want rights for all.
As a local guy here, (born and bred Caymanian), I would have come out to march too had I known about it. I believe why there weren’t more local people is because people were not aware of a march being held.
I love this and I am so sad that I missed it. My friends that went met new people and said that they are all so friendly..
lol
Your Headline is misleading – this was not the LBGTI Community but locals, and many of them our future, supporting the rights of all and placing love first
Just shocked that no government officials came out of their shell!!!! 😀😀
shocked and sad, but not surprised
You can say they were “shell-shocked”… 😀
Contrary to claims made by Anthony Eden, my girlfriend and I found none of them to be pedophiles, beastiality supporters or evil people. They are actually decent Caymanians who I deserve equal rights and I’m glad I went out to meet and offer our support for them.
– a straight Caymanian guy
Most from the CRUISE SHIP 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Not one Caymanian I know was in the march.
I was there. Nobody from cruise ships, half Caymanian, half expat.
It was a beautiful afternoon filled with love!
Fantastic, well done guys!!!! Keep marching forward!!!
There is a video circulating. This is evidence. I can’t even find more than 10 Caymanians.
More reason why we should be opposing this ruling from the CJ’s bench! One man shouldnt pass a judgement for the whole of Cayman.
congratulations, so many gay caymanians hide who they truly are because of how they think they will be treated. I was there and I walked for my rights and over 30 personal friends that are as Caymanian as you can get. Yesterday they saw it can be done and are finding their voices and once they do, you will never forget their stories. For now they are silent out of a sense of obligation for their families but they will soon be inspired to stand tall and speak their truth and they will be heard, you will hear them as they are nearer than you think.
You just mad no one wanted to go home with you.
Fake News. The crowd was made up for residents – Caymanians and expats alike, standing up for equality and dignity!
You need to get out more and understand the views of the Island’s younger generation
Yes, the cruise shippers were so well prepared with colorful clothing, rainbow flags, and signs. Moron.
I call bullshit
12:27 it’s evident from your comment that you weren’t there. zero cruise shippers. 60% at least were Caymanians (including myself) wether you want to hear it or not. Let people be happy. It’s none of your business what people choose to do with their lives.