The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

AFTER shocking PLP members last week by announcing in the House of Assembly that he did not support the constitutional referendum bills that were tabled last month, Dr Minnis said yesterday that he and Prime Minister Perry Christie are once again “on the same page” with respect to the referendum.

The Killarney MP stressed that he merely wanted to ensure that the wording and intentions of the bills were correct.

“I think the two of us are working for the same goal,” he said, though he would not reveal his current position on the bills, saying that they are currently “in the committee stage” where amendments would be made to them.

He added: “My commitment to gender quality has never been in doubt and has never and will never change. I support gender equality, but I want the wording and intent of the bills right, so that they will not have a deleterious effect and unintended consequences on present and future generations of Bahamians.”

He dismissed rumours yesterday that he opposed the bills last week because he faced pressure from FNM Council members to put up more resistance to the government’s proposals.

“Nobody can pressure me, force me, or put a gun to my head to change my view,” he said. “My views and convictions for equality for women are firm.”

Dr Minnis’ dramatic change in position, Prime Minister Perry Christie suggested last week, was surprising because the Killarney MP did not communicate in a series of consultations with the Constitutional Commission and the government in the lead-up to the opening of the debate on the bills that there were concerns about the legislation.

During his contribution to the proposed amendments last week, Dr Minnis took exception to all of the amendments particularly to the first constitutional amendment because it would not operate retroactively. It would enable a child born outside the Bahamas to a Bahamian woman to have automatic Bahamian citizenship at birth.

Presently, only those born in another country to a Bahamian father automatically acquire Bahamian status, but not if the father is non-Bahamian and the mother is Bahamian.

He added that bills two and three can be dealt with through legislative changes and that public concerns of the possibility of bill four leading to same-sex marriage needed to be addressed. He stressed that his party believes in gender equality, but he was not prepared to support changes to the Constitution that would lead to “disaster.”

After Dr Minnis’ statement last week, Constitutional Commission Chairman Sean McWeeney said the division between the government and the opposition was “very concerning” and put the referendum in “jeopardy”. However, he added, because the bills had yet to be officially committed, there was still sufficient time to clarify points of confusion.

The Tribune was told that Dr Minnis met with the prime minister, the Constitutional Commission, and religious leader Dr Myles Munroe, among others, on Saturday to discuss concerns with the referendum bills and questions.

On Sunday, Mr McWeeney revealed that the government had revised the four questions to make them simpler.

The changes to the constitutional amendment bills are expected to be tabled in the House soon.