Tag: same-sex unions
Jowell all but concedes on civil unions
(CNS): The constitutional expert representing the Cayman government in its defence of a legal claim by two women wishing to marry all but conceded that there was little he could do to argue against the need for introducing civil partnerships in the Cayman Islands, which would allow same-sex couples to have some form of legal […]
‘Right or wrong’, marriage inequity deliberate
(CNS): Sir Jeffrey Jowell QC, whom government has instructed to defend a legal case challenging the Cayman Islands’ ban on same-sex marriage and the lack of equity for gay couples, told the court Friday that “rightly or wrongly”, the intention of the Constitution is to ensure that marriage remains a union between opposite-sex couples only. […]
Governor won’t intervene in marriage equality case
(CNS): Governor Martyn Roper says he will not intervene to prevent the Cayman Islands Government from fighting the legal challenge filed by Caymanian Chantelle Day and her British fiancée, Vickie Bodden, who have been refused the right to marry by the registrar on the grounds that they are a same-sex couple. Although Roper said he […]
Premier hints Roper should tackle marriage equality
(CNS): In an address to the Legislative Assembly yesterday, the premier appeared to signal that he wants the new governor, Martyn Roper, to deal with the contentious issue of same-sex unions and demonstrated his own reluctance to tackle it. Welcoming the UK’s representative to Cayman and speaking off the cuff, Alden McLaughlin gave a potted […]
Gay marriage trial set for early next year
(CNS): Chief Justice Anthony Smellie has ordered the civil action brought by two women who were refused the opportunity to marry by the registrar to be heard in February 2019. Cayman’s top judge, who will be hearing the case, also confirmed Friday in a short case management hearing that, during the three-day trial next year, the […]
CJ clears way for judicial review of gay marriage
(CNS): Chief Justice Anthony Smellie will be hearing what is likely to be a landmark case in the Cayman Islands after he approved on Wednesday the application for a judicial review of the General Registry’s refusal to give two women a marriage licence. Chantelle Day and Vickie Bodden, who were denied the right to marry in April […]
Women file legal case over marriage refusal
(CNS): Chantelle Day and Vickie Bodden, who were denied the right to marry after the General Register refused the couple a licence in April because they are in a same-sex relationship, have filed an application in the Grand Court for a judicial review of that decision. In the first case of its kind in the Cayman […]
Bermuda court rules same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional
(CNS): Bermuda’s Supreme Court has ruled that elements of the recent ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. The recently enacted Domestic Partnership Act barred same-sex couples from marrying, despite the findings of the court in a decision in May last year where they upheld the right of a Bermudian man and his Canadian partner who had […]
DG: Cayman will need to tackle LGBTI issues
(CNS): Deputy Governor Franz Manderson has echoed the comments made by Governor Helen Kilpatrick before she left the Cayman Islands about the need for the government to address the inequities surrounding the relationships of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex people. Although the issue remains controversial, Manderson said this was something that was “not going […]
UK endorsing oppression of LGBTIs, says activist
(CNS): The UK has actively engaged with the Bermuda government “in undermining the rule of law, ignoring an order of the local court and facilitating the withdrawal of equality” for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community there, Dr Leonardo Raznovich, a lawyer and Cayman-based LGBTI activist has said. Highlighting Britain’s failure to protect […]
Activists raise more concerns over discrimination
(CNS): Colours Cayman has accused government of effectively deporting gay Caymanians because same-sex spouses of local people have been refused residency rights as dependents. The activists raised further concerns with the European Union this week that Britain’s territories are continuing to discriminate against members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community following a decision […]
