Colours Cayman: Our organisation’s response to local conservative views on marriage equality
GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS, 17 July 2019:
“If You Don’t Like It, Leave”What a hurtful sentiment. Particularly when it’s directed towards those who only want to feel safe and secure wherever they live.
Yet it’s the kind of rhetoric that our LGBT community is all too familiar with. The moment we speak up in hopes of being heard, respected or at least tolerated, we’re often reduced to some kind of pariah, no longer seen as fit to live amongst others in our own country. We’re told to simply pack up and leave, as if we’ve no attachment whatsoever to anything nor anyone here. Never mind the job we may have secured or our friends and family or the countless memories made—we’re expected to sacrifice it all for want of a more accepting, more progressive society.
But nevertheless it’s this toxic rhetoric that continues to spread throughout our culture, spreading even so far as to infect our own churches and government. How does anyone expect to assuage the very real fears we have by telling us to go elsewhere, implying that we’re not welcome in our own home?
Fortunately, things are changing. And much of that change is owing to our Constitution, our Bill of Rights and one Caymanian woman who recently stood up for her constitutional right to enjoy her private and family life without discrimination, which ultimately led to the most senior judge of the country recognising her struggle and the importance of marriage equality.
Yes, many objected to the ruling that was reached. But those who speak of the Constitution of the Cayman Islands or international law on a public platform—and those who assist them in doing so—particularly those who occupy public office, have a duty to ensure that any legal statements and analyses are accurate. And as such, they should be held accountable for the consequences of making false or inaccurate statements upon which others rely.
In the end, the will of the majority is not protected by the Constitution, but rather it is regulated in certain specific matters contained in the Bill of Rights in order to protect every person, irrespective of their gender or sexual orientation. Its purpose is to minimise injustices and secure fundamental rights and freedoms for all to enjoy.
Now, at least one injustice—marriage inequality—is likely to be rectified. And while many may, for whatever reason, disagree with the outcome, I would like to think that we all want to feel as though we belong here.
Because that is true equality.
About Colours Cayman
Colours Cayman is a locally operated non-profit that aims to foster a safe and comfortable social environment for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA+) community of the Cayman Islands by building a network of local businesses and public venues free of discrimination and harassment towards anyone on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. We advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights as Human Rights and promote the inclusion and equality of LGBTQIA+ persons in the Cayman Islands and throughout the Caribbean and Latin America.
| Billie “Bee” Bryan Founder & President She/Her/Hers |
Recently, everywhere they have been very persistently arguing about equal parity in all social and personal positions. Especially, they talk about women’s pride in the context of equal positions in marriage. Therefore, the question came up and became urgent: what does the concept of “equal positions” mean in marriage? I will give an example of how I see it. In a work collective, relationships are built, at least in the West, not on the basis of gender identification and the primary attitude of employees towards each other. First of all, the factor of professional competence plays here. In addition, joining a work collective depends, more often, not on the desire of the applicant, but on the last word of the boss.