News

Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin welcomed news that the Court of Appeal has allowed Government’s appeal in what has become known as the Same-Sex Marriage case.

“I am pleased that the Court of Appeal has agreed with Government that the original ruling brought significant ambiguity surrounding the Constitution and Bill of Rights and the interpretation of and ability of the Court to amend laws. We believed it was critical that the country had the benefit of clarification on these very important constitutional issues,” Mr.  McLaughlin said. “While I do appreciate the ruling, I am mindful that it comes with a declaration that requires immediate action from the Government.”

The Court of Appeal declared that “Chantelle Day and Vickie Bodden Bush are entitled, expeditiously, to legal protection in the Cayman Islands, which is functionally equivalent to marriage”.

Government had three primary points of concern with the original ruling of Chief Justice Anthony Smellie, QC:

Firstly, the implications of the Court’s decision for other types of marriages (for example, polygamous marriage), and whether Government would now be bound to give effect to or recognise such marriages if an application for a marriage licence is made for a man to marry multiple wives.

The second concern related to the extent of the powers of the Court under section 5 (1) of the Constitution to modify legislation on matters such as the right to marry, bringing into question the appropriate separation of powers under the Constitution and whether by exercising these powers under section 5 (1), the Court has exceeded its mandate under the principle of separation of powers.  

And a third concern was whether, given the language in section 14 (1) of the Constitution, it was open to the Court to find that the right to marry and found a family, could be located in other rights within the Bill of Rights, namely, sections 9 and 10 of that document.

The Government will carefully consider the full judgment to determine how best to proceed.

Colours Cayman’s Comment On The Recent Court Of Appeal Ruling On Same-Sex Marriage

Firstly, Colours Cayman would like to commend Chantelle Day and Vickie Bodden Bush for their courage, strength of will and sheer tenacity, all of which have been on full display throughout the course of this gruelling battle. They and their brilliant legal team are paving the way towards a brighter and more inclusive future for our nation and have our organisation’s total support in this endeavour.

Furthermore, while we applaud the Court of Appeal for reprimanding the Cayman Islands Government for having knowingly allowed the continued violation of the rights of same-sex couples to marry, Ms Day and Ms Bodden Bush in particular, we also recognise that our government still holds all the cards—for now. This being the result of the Court of Appeal’s negligent interpretation of our constitution and reluctance to make the firm demand for the legalisation of same-sex marriage, effectively affording the government licence to keep dragging its heels.

Yes, our government has been ordered to act swiftly and put forth a solution that would prove “functionally equivalent to marriage” for same-sex couples, however, given their stance on this controversial issue, that is likely to come in the form of civil unions at best, which serve as something as a stand-in for actual marriage.

We believe we speak for the majority of our LGBT+ community and its supporters when we say that civil unions are a consolation prize that we will not be contented with. Despite the privileges they may afford, they ultimately perpetuate divisiveness and make anyone who doesn’t identify as heterosexual into second class citizens.

As it stands, we’re now anticipating government to deliver a half-measure solution to act as a compromise that will only drag things out even more. And given that likely outcome, it is safe to say that the judgment can only be duly corrected by an appeal to the Privy Council.

No matter the direction our government proposes to take in order to appease the Court of Appeal, this fight isn’t over until true marriage equality is achieved in the Cayman Islands for all its people..