Bermuda is poised to again permit same-sex marriages after a high court reversed a ban on the unions.
Earlier this year, the British territory made the unprecedented decision to repeal the right of gay couples to marry - making it the first nation to extend and then revoke that right.
Governor John Rankin signed a measure banning same-sex marriage after a referendum found a majority of Bermudans opposed them, seeking to override a Supreme Court decision allowing same-sex unions.
Gay Bermudians sued, saying Parliament lacked the power to reverse the high court. Chief Justice Ian Kawaley sided with them, writing in his decision that “Parliament cannot impose the religious preferences of any one group on the society as a whole”.
“One side of the freedom of conscience coin is that as a general rule no one can be compelled to participate in activities which contravene their beliefs”, Mr Kawaley wrote. “The other side of the same coin is that the State cannot use the legislative process to pass laws of general application which favour some beliefs at the expense of others”.
The ruling does not take effect immediately. Bermuda’s government has a six-week window in which two decide whether to appeal.
Gay rights advocates reacted to the decision with joy, saying it vindicated the steady advancement of same-sex marriage legalisation.
“This ruling will encourage and empower legal challenges to criminalisation and marriage inequality across the Caribbean, many of which are bound to succeed”, LGBT activist Peter Tatchell said in a statement. “It is indicative of the unstoppable global trend towards LGBT+ equal human rights.”
