#85 - Same Sex Marriage in the Bermuda Triangle

Rolling back the civil rights of its citizens is not something that most governments want to be known for.  It’s not the sort of thing that is showcased on the national resume,

It appears that the little island of Bermuda, a British territory, 650 miles off the coast of North Carolina, doesn’t subscribe to the same school of thought, as they recently become the first jurisdiction in the world to legalize and then repeal same-sex marriage, in what critics have called an unprecedented rollback of civil rights.

 Oh, I get how it happened.  It was another battle of the judiciary branch vs. the legislative branch. Some judge who as a child stumbled across the basic concept that all men and all women are created equal, and grew up believing that the concept was…wait, what’s the right word here? Let me think, OK, got it…, grew up believing, that the concept was….SELF-EVIDENT…, decided one day to do the right thing and declare same-sex marriage legal, on the little island territory. 

For that judge, there probably was not much to fuss about, she was just trying to do what judges do, interpret the laws of their jurisdiction fairly and impartially, and she concluded one day that some gay persons were being unfairly treated, so she corrected it.  Just another day at the office. 

And so on May 5, 2017, Acting Chief Justice Charles-Etta Simmons of the Supreme Court of Bermuda issued her ruling in favor of same-sex marriage stating "on the facts, the applicants were discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation when the Registrar refused to process their notice of intended marriage.”  And the judge declared that same-sex couples are entitled to be married under Bermuda’s Marriage Act 1944. 

And so it was written, and so it shall be.

Ah, not quite.  The legislative branch of this socially conservative territory with a population of 64,000 had other ideas.  It seems that Bermuda is not quite in step in comparison with the larger continents which surround it.

The legislative branch succumbed to local political pressure and did the politically correct thing (it’s what they do) with total disregard for doing the right thing (it’s not in their DNA).  And so same-sex marriage was once again declared illegal and replaced, the legislature will tell you, with an extremely generous Domestic Partnership Act, which provides almost all if the benefits of gay marriage, except for one thing you see, a little thing called… dignity.   Gay folks don’t deserve that you see, because, well, they are gay.  And it’s our job to take it away from them.  This was the message delivered by Bermuda’s House of Assembly and voted into law by the Governor on February 7, 2018.

In a world where the acceptance of same-sex marriage is becoming so routine, it’s downright boring, the little island of Bermuda was in danger of being lost at sea.  A Gallup poll conducted in May 2017, showed support for same-sex marriage in the United States was at 64%, up from 26% just 20 years earlier.  Hell, even 47% of Republicans now support gay marriage. Still, Bermuda was bucking the trend.  You have to wonder why they appear to be going in reverse, when everyone else has the pedal to the floor and is moving forward.

The distinguishing characteristic might be the possible isolation that comes with being an island, one that survives as an off shore financial center and tourist destination.  It is a popular tax avoidance location, where over 15,000 exempted or international companies are currently registered, most of which hold no office space or employees.  Tourism is the second largest industry on the island which sees over half a million visitors a year, mostly from the United States.

In both cases, the island essentially prostitutes itself to keep itself going.  Give us your money and we will take care of it.  Give us your free time and we will take care of you.  Both industries are inward looking, and they only care about operating in a hassle free environment which allows them to continue to print cash.   It doesn’t mean that the people in the industries are against same-sex marriage. It’s more likely that they support it.  They are just against disruption, so if the isolated island inhabitants haven’t yet moved forward in to the new millennium, so what.  It’s of no concern to them.

So, with that attitude, there is only one way to express disapproval for Bermuda’s backward leaning, legal reversal, only one way to introduce a bit of disruption.  You can do that by voting with your pocketbook.  It can influence change.  The most recent case in point was in 2016, when then Indiana governor Mike Pence signed The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which allowed business owners to deny services to patrons based on their sexual orientation.  The backlash was swift and Indianapolis soon lost 12 conventions representing roughly $60 million in spending.  The law was eventually watered down and Pence’s career seemed to crater. (No one thought it could go any lower, but well, we were all flat our wrong on this one)

I have been to Bermuda three or four times in my lifetime and I always found it to be a beautiful welcoming retreat, and I always assumed I would be back.  But the truth is, there are many other places in the world, I would like to visit, so all things considered equal, unless things change in Bermuda, I won’t be going back. 

I hope you will consider joining me and causing just a little bit of disruption in the world. It feels good.      

[Written for my good friend, Karen]