Boris Johnson slammed for signing off overturned Bermuda same-sex marriage law
The Foreign Secretary gave a greenlight to the law which offer civil partnerships over marriages
By Steve Brown
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has been criticised for signing off a law in Bermuda banning same-sex marriages.
This week, the country – which is part of the Commonwealth – made history by becoming the first ever country to repeal marriage equality days after they issued a ruling striking down parts of the Domestic Partnerships Act.
This law banned same-sex weddings and instead opted to allow gay couples to enter in a civil partnership.
Johnson signed off the law back in February despite the UK’s power to block legislation in overseas territories deemed to go against human rights laws.
And now he has come under scrutiny after the country’s Supreme Court ruled that the ban does violate the human rights clauses in its constitution.
Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry told PinkNews: “When Boris Johnson explained his abysmal decision to allow the Bermuda same-sex marriage ban in February, he said it was because there was no legal or constitutional basis for him to stop it.
“But now the Bermuda Supreme Court has ruled that the ban breaches the constitution of Bermuda by infringing on the legal rights of same-sex couples.
“In other words, the Bermudian Supreme Court has had to do Boris Johnson’s job for him. He should be ashamed of that and needs to explain himself.”
A spokesperson for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office went on to say that the UK is “absolutely committed” to LGBT+ equality.
They said: “The UK is absolutely committed to promoting LGBT equality and we welcome the decision of the Supreme Court in Bermuda in favour of same-sex marriage rights.
“Ministers will continue to encourage and engage with all of the Overseas Territories on these matters so they can drive their own last legislative change.”