The Associated Press (AP) is reporting that the Senate in Bermuda gave final legislative approval Wednesday to a measure that would end same-sex marriage in the British island territory and allow only domestic partnerships.
The vote comes just months after the territory approved same-sex marriage. According to the AP, a Supreme Court ruling in May made same-sex marriages legal in Bermuda amid opposition on the socially conservative island. The ruling Progressive Labor Party took up the matter after winning power in the July election, according to the report.
Travel Agent reached out to a spokesperson for the Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) who told us, “the tourism office cannot comment,” but called the Associated Press report, “factual.”
According to the AP, senators approved the Domestic Partnership Act by an 8-3 vote. The House of Assembly approved it 24-10 on Friday. It must now be signed by the governor before it becomes law in the Atlantic ocean territory.
According to the BBC, the decision has had a mixed reaction on the island, with one shadow minister calling it "shameful." Same-sex couples will still have the legal right to partnership, and those who have already married will keep their status, according to the BBC report.
Only One Bermuda Alliance senators Andrew Simons, Justin Mathias and Nandi Outerbridge spoke against the Domestic Partnership Act as the legislation was debated in the Upper Chamber, according to the Royal Gazette, a local news outlet in Bermuda.
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