Bermuda Supreme Court Overturns Same-Sex Marriage Ban

The Supreme Court of Bermuda agreed to overturn the nation’s same-sex marriage ban and decided in favor of OUTBermuda and its co-litigants, in a decision today. 

Johnson Lord and Hartnett-Beasley, the direcotrs of OUTBermuda, were one of the successful litigants in the joint lawsuit brought by Roderick Ferguson and Maryellen Jackson that challenged the recently enacted Domestic Partnership Act that removed marriage rights for same-sex couples. 

Zakiya Johnson Lord and Adrian Hartnett-Beasley of OUTBermuda said of today's decision: “Love wins again! Our hearts and hopes are full, thanks to this historic decision by our Supreme Court and its recognition that all Bermuda families matter. Equality under the law is our birthright, and we begin by making every marriage equal.”
 
Ferguson and Jackson offered a joint statement: “We all came to the court with one purpose. That was to overturn the unfair provisions of the Domestic Partnership Act that tried to take away the rights of same-sex couples to marry. Revoking same-sex marriage is not merely unjust, but regressive and unconstitutional; the Court has now agreed that our belief in same-sex marriage as an institution is deserving of legal protection and that belief was treated by the Act in a discriminatory way under Bermuda’s Constitution.  We continue to support domestic partnership rights for all Bermudians to choose, but not at the expense of denying marriage to some.”

Bermuda became the first jurisdiction in the world to repeal same-sex marriage and revert back to domestic partnerships. The move sparked heavy controversy around the globe back in February. 

Carnival Corporation was thanked explicitly thanked for their support in fighting for marriage equality in Bermuda. When the ban went into effect, the company was forced to stop same-sex wedding celebrations aboard their Bermuda-registered ships.

Does this mean Ellen DeGeneres's trip is back on?