A decision handed down last Friday by the Cayman Islands Grand Court has legalized same-sex marriage in the Caribbean nation that is a British Overseas Territory.
Cayman Compass reports:
The decision, which was met by applause from around 80 people who packed into Courtroom 5, follows a petition by Day and her partner Vickie Bodden Bush.
The couple, who have been in a committed relationship for seven years and have an adopted daughter together, brought a joint judicial review and constitutional challenge after government refused their application to marry in April last year.
Chief Justice Anthony Smellie ruled on Friday that the decision was discriminatory. He said preventing same-sex couples from accessing marriage, and the suite of rights that come with it, was a clear violation of freedoms guaranteed in Cayman’s constitution, including the right to a private and family life.
Chief Justice Smellie used his powers under the Constitution to rewrite the Marriage Law. He ordered that the clause in the law, specifying that marriage is reserved for heterosexual couples, be altered to state, “‘Marriage’ means the union between two people as one another’s spouses.”
