Bermuda’s Premier Michael Dunkley says his One Bermuda Alliance (OBA) Government will take steps to hold a referendum on the controversial topic of same-sex marriage and civil unions in the British Overseas Territory.
Dunkley, accompanied by Community and Culture Minister Patricia Gordon Pamplin, told a media conference yesterday that a referendum bill will be tabled in the House of Assembly “this legislative session”.
It came moments after Gordon-Pamplin tabled the Civil Union Bill 2016 for consultation in the House.
She said the issue of same-sex marriage and civil unions is “at the forefront of our national conversation” because a Supreme Court ruling regarding the Bermuda Bred Company took effect on Monday.
That landmark ruling by Chief Justice Ian Kawaley means that non-Bermudian same-sex partners of Bermudians, who are in permanent relationships, are entitled to live and work in Bermuda free of immigration control.
