Tag: Domestic Partnership Law
Roper re-releases Domestic Partnership Bill for input
(CNS): Governor Martyn Roper has re-released the Domestic Partnership Bill, along with another eleven amendment bills that he is expected to pass into law by early September. No changes have yet been made to the original bill, which was drafted to provide a legal mechanism similar to marriage for same-sex couples, but some are expected […]
Family life is of paramount importance
Christina Hislop Rowlandson writes: Royal assent if given to a ‘substitute marriage bill’, as I personally refer to it, would have drastically changed the state of legal unions for the purposes of having children and other matters. The bill was debated and voted down in two days amid little public fanfare. Six of seven official […]
McLean demands paper trail between Roper and UK
(CNS): Opposition Leader Arden McLean has written to Governor Martyn Roper asking him to disclose the correspondence between his office and the Foreign Office that led to his decision to pass the Domestic Partnership Bill himself. Meanwhile, as the opposition continues to object to the bill and the marriage equality debate rages on, the Human […]
Premier: UK likely to retain reserved powers
(CNS): Britain’s recent agreement to remove section 81 of the Constitution, which allows a governor to make laws directly for the Cayman Islands, will most probably be reconsidered, Premier Alden McLaughlin has said. As the current governor prepares to use that Reserved Power to pass the Domestic Partnership Bill into law, the premier believes that […]
LGBT group worried by MLAs’ view of law
(CNS): The local LGBT advocacy group, Colours Cayman, has welcomed the governor’s decision to intervene in order to uphold the rule of law regarding the rights of that community and enact the Domestic Partnership Law. However, the activists have raised concerns that some local legislators have said that they are not willing to comply with […]
Governor imposing DP bill, not same-sex marriage
(CNS): Governor Martyn Roper will push through the Domestic Partnership Bill, which was defeated in the Legislative Assembly last week, rather than legislation giving full marriage equality for same-sex couples. Roper will be imposing the law through his Reserved Powers under section 81 of the Constitution and not by an order-in-council directly from the UK. […]
HRC expects UK to act as CMA remains defiant
(CNS): The passage of the Domestic Partnership Bill into law “should have been inevitable”, given the ruling of the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal, the Human Rights Commission has said. But as the “Legislative Assembly failed once again” to meet it obligations, “direct intervention by the United Kingdom now appears likely”, the HRC said in […]
Gay marriage appears to be on the cards
(CNS): The failure of the Legislative Assembly to support the Domestic Partnership Bill has made it highly likely that the UK will impose same-sex marriage on the jurisdiction. While the governor’s office has so far refused to confirm this, statements by British politicians on the matter, the unfulfilled legal obligation to address the human rights […]
The defeat of the Domestic Partnership Bill
Billie “Bee” Bryan writes: Colours Cayman would like to express our deep concern and disappointment in the outcome of the debate over the Domestic Partnership Bill in the Legislative Assembly this week. This isn’t just a sad day for our LGBTQIA+ community; it’s also a terribly sad day for our wonderful Islands and our persons. The failure […]
DP bill fails as ministers break rank
(CNS): Exercising a ‘conscience vote’, two Cabinet ministers voted against the Domestic Partnership Bill on Wednesday, ensuring its defeat by one vote. Education Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly and Health Minister Dwayne Seymour joined with the opposition benches against government on the contentious bill. But Premier Alden McLaughlin predicted the imposition of same-sex marriage by the UK […]
DP debate stirs up various prejudices
(CNS): Anti-gay rights bias and homophobia weren’t the only prejudices and odd reactions that politicians displayed over the last two days as they debated the Domestic Partnership Bill. From the opposition leader referring to the former governor as “that woman” to the health minister’s warning that women’s sexual drive increases during a full moon, the […]
