Dear Sir,

The Government has now lost before the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal on its political attempt to impose upon our entire society a religious belief that the institution of marriage should not be enjoyed by gay couples.

The Government’s legislation has been repeatedly struck down by the courts as either contrary to the Human Rights Act or, in the most recent round, as contrary to the Constitution.

Many democratic societies have accepted that marriage is a choice available to everyone, as are the protections that are afforded to couples when the relationship does not work out.

It is ironic that a labour government, which prides itself on being progressive, is in truth selectively progressive.

It views gays as a group that should be treated differently, denied access to the institution of marriage and hypocritically prayed for.

The Government rigidly and without any consideration of the long history of discrimination that many Bermudians have experienced is content to inflict pain and suffering on gays and make them feel less than full members of our community because of an orientation that is just as permanent as the colour of a person’s skin.

The Government now intends to appeal to the Privy Council at taxpayers’ expense and, in an attempt to mask the brutal nature of its actions, it distracts and says that there are important constitutional issues to explore and to get right.

As a Bermudian, I am disillusioned and embarrassed that the Government of Bermuda’s tent in 2018 is not big enough, compassionate enough and open-minded enough to embrace gays.

Bermuda has such serious challenges from the overwhelming deficit to a struggling economy, to a crisis in education, to a declining population, and instead of focusing on those issues, the Government is determined to spend its time and limited financial resources on keeping people down.

As a country, we really need to come together and lift people up.

TIM MARSHALL

Sandys