‘Prepare to justify your position’
Cayman chief justice says countries should be guided by respect for human dignity on same-sex marriage
‘Every society will have to go through a process in the rationalisation of these rights (to marry) for itself.’
ANTHONY SMELLIE, the chief justice of the Cayman Islands, says countries around the world that continue to oppose the lifestyle of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community could be called to justify their position on same-sex marriage over time.
“Every society will have to go through a process in the rationalisation of these rights (to marry) for itself,” Smellie told The Gleaner.
“I think that the abiding principle must be one of humanity and respect for human dignity ... we are all human beings.”
Smellie, a Cornwall College old boy, came to international attention earlier this year when he ruled that same-sex marriage could legally take place in the British Overseas Territory. In that Appeal Court matter, the Jamaicaborn chief justice ordered that section two of the marriage law be changed to state that “marriage” means “the union between two people.”
“My own views on the subject matter are really quite irrelevant,” he said, when pressed for a comment on the current standoff between gay-rights group Montego Bay Pride and Mayor Homer Davis, chairman of the St James Municipal Corporation, over the use of the Montego Bay Cultural Centre.
“I did write a judgment [on same-sex marriage] which itself is an appeal, so I shouldn’t comment on that either,” he said.
“People will have to respect the judgments of the court and there is an appeal process, I imagine and ultimately, when the case is finally dealt with on appeal, that will become the decision that everybody will have to respect.”
In September, The Gleaner reported that during a meeting of the St James Municipal Corporation, Davis said that he would be revoking permission for the group to use the facility, stating that the move was necessary to preserve the “sacredness” of the space.
That decision by the municipal corporation is now the subject of a judicial review, following an application filed by Maurice Tomlinson, founder and development coordinator for the gay group.