By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
CONSTITUTIONAL Commission Chairman Sean McWeeney said yesterday he does not believe a statutory provision clarifying that same-sex marriage is illegal in The Bahamas is necessary to prevent successful legal challenges to the status quo.
His statement came after Court of Appeal President Dame Anita Allen suggested during a speech on Tuesday that without such a provision, one cannot conclusively say same-sex marriage is currently illegal in The Bahamas.
Mr McWeeney said he found Dame Anita’s controversial and highly anticipated presentation, “erudite, balanced, provocative and above all else intellectually honest.”
But on the issue of a clarifying statutory provision that says marriages not involving a man and a woman are void, he said if Prime Minister Perry Christie were to seek his advice on the matter he would recommend not implementing such a provision.
“Where statute is silent,” he said, “a basic principle is a common law fills the vacuum and common law is extremely clear that the only marriage that is valid is one between a man and a woman. So even if a statute is not clear about an issue, one would look at what the common law says to determine what to do.”
Nonetheless, in its report in 2013, the Constitutional Commission recommended to the government that it include such a provision to note explicitly that laws prohibiting same-sex marriage in the country would not be inconsistent with the Constitution.
“It was a specific proposal from various elements of the religious community,” he said yesterday. “Persons like Pastor Rex Major appeared before the commission with that recommendation. But ultimately, the Constitution is not the place to define marriage. That should be left over to the legislature. And in any case, it wasn’t necessary.”
Mr McWeeney maintained his belief that the failure of the fourth referendum bill will make it easier to argue that prohibiting same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
That bill sought to end discrimination based on sex, which was defined as being male or female.
“What has happened now is the Bahamian people have missed the opportunity to narrow the meaning of sex,” he said.
If a same-sex couple were to seek marriage in this country, Mr McWeeney expressed confidence that the challenge would be vigorously opposed by the Office of the Attorney General.
Comments
Well_mudda_take_sic 7 years, 10 months ago
I have to laugh most heartily. Here we have Sean McWeeney, who is about as intellectually dishonest as they come, saying that Anita Allen's recent remarks on the subject of same-sex marriage were "above all else intellectually honest". Sean, like his brother Paul who stood by as managing director of Bank of The Bahamas while it was fleeced by senior officials in both the corrupt Christie-led PLP government and the previous FNM government, epitomizes a wasted mind as a result of serious character flaws driven by his twisted interpretation of some of the world's great literary works in philosophy, law and politics. Knowledge went to Sean's head in just about every wrong way possible....a common "disease" for many well read intellectually dishonest individuals. Even in his remarks quoted in the article above he can't help but readily come across as being the smug condescending SOB that he is!
Reality_Check 7 years, 10 months ago
McWeeney Q.C. seems to be lecturing out of both sides of his mouth on the subject of same-sex marriage while at the same time now brown-nosing the President of the Court of Appeal. Had McWeeney carefully listened early on to the public when seeking their input in developing Question # 4, the will of the Bahamian people would have been well cemented in our Constitution, as is the case in Jamaica. But nooooo, smarty pants McWeeney, who considers himself to be a political know-it-all elitist, dared to think he could get away with pulling the wool over the people's eyes as he has done so many times in the past.
TalRussell 7 years, 10 months ago
Justice: What's The Right Thing To Do? Episode 12: "DEBATING SAME-SEX MARRIAGE"
....////https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzD9P...">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzD9P...
Zakary 7 years, 10 months ago
For a referendum, where its proponents stressed continually that it had nothing to do with same sex marriage, it is interesting that the window of post referendum discussion is so centered around the legality of same sex marriages in the Bahamas, and so quickly.
First Wayne Munroe and Fitzgerald, then the good Dame Anita Allen, and the good QC here. They are all guiding the discussion ever so delicately.
But if this is taken to its logical conclusion, then we can only await the arrival of this astute and courageous Bahamian who will challenge and test the laws with success.
But know this, should it follow through, success or a failure, this current PLP government will lose every seat they currently have in Parliament. Guaranteed.
They better be careful. The mood in this country may very well be shifting out of their favour.
ThisIsOurs 7 years, 10 months ago
a basic principle is a common law fills the vacuum and common law is extremely clear that the only marriage that is valid is one between a man and a woman.
so before the referendum the marriage act protected against same sex marriage, so they didn't have to define as "at birth", now the only protection is common law? An unwritten law. Are they serious?
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