Victory! Bermuda’s Supreme Court rules in favor of marriage equality

June 6, 2018 – New York, NY – GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, today celebrated the Bermuda Supreme Court deciding in favor of OUTBermuda and its co-litigants in the case of Roderick Ferguson et al. v The Attorney General. For more information click here and follow @OUTBremuda. 

In February 2018, the British territory of Bermuda became the first jurisdiction in the world to announce a repeal of marriage equality, rolling back an earlier Supreme Court decision less than a year after it had been legalized. The repeal was delayed until the end of May and took effect on June 1. Today, the Bermuda’s Supreme Court ruled against the section of the Domestic Partnership Act (DPA) which banned marriage equality.

“Today the Bermuda Supreme Court affirmed what we already know – that love can never be rolled back and that all loving and committed couples deserve the protections that only marriage affords,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD. “The hard work of local activists alongside strong action from cruise lines and companies that do business in Bermuda resulted in this tremendous victory over discrimination.”

Local advocacy organization OUTBermuda has been leading the call for the reinstitution of marriage equality in Bermuda by pursuing legal action within Bermuda’s Supreme Court and amplifying their efforts with international organizations and the media. When the repeal was announced, GLAAD and others called for business and tourism leaders to speak out against the repeal. International companies, including Carnival, also joined the effort to reinstate marriage equality and celebrities including Ellen DeGeneres, Suze Orman, Tegan and Sara, Patricia Arquette used their voices to call out the discriminatory repeal.