Same-sex marriage
has been legal in
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
since 2017. An
ordinance
to open marriage to same-sex couples in
Saint Helena
was passed by the
Legislative Council
in a 9?2 vote on 19 December 2017. It went into force the following day, and the first same-sex marriage was performed on 31 December 2018. Same-sex couples have also been able to marry on
Ascension Island
since 1 January 2017 and in
Tristan da Cunha
since 4 August 2017.
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha was the fourth civilian
British Overseas Territory
to legalise same-sex marriage, following the
Pitcairn Islands
,
Gibraltar
and the
Falkland Islands
.
Background
[
edit
]
The
Kingdom of England
took possession of
Saint Helena
in 1659, building a fort and several houses. It became a
crown colony
in 1834.
Ascension Island
was claimed by the
United Kingdom
in 1815, and the archipelago of
Tristan da Cunha
was annexed by the British the following year and governed as a dependency of the
Cape Colony
in
South Africa
. Ascension and Tristan became dependencies of Saint Helena in 1922 and 1938 respectively. In 2009, the three island groups were raised to equal status with the enactment of a new constitution.
A registry for marriages, burials and births was created upon the instructions of the
East India Company
in 1673. Until the middle of the 19th century, marriages were performed on simple payment of a fee.
Civil marriages
were possible, performed by the
Governor of Saint Helena
. The
Marriage Ordinance 1851
was the first
local ordinance
documenting how marriages were to be legally solemnised on the islands. It required the intending spouses to provide an advance notice of marriage, and allowed the
Anglican Church
to perform religious marriage ceremonies. As non-Anglican churches became established over the years, they also obtained the right to marry people.
[1]
The
Marriage Ordinance 1851
did not explicitly ban same-sex marriages, and used
gender-neutral language
with regard to married spouses (referring to the "parties" to a marriage).
[1]
Nonetheless, a marriage between persons of the same sex was
void
ab initio
in
common law
, and thus same-sex couples were unable to marry on the islands.
[2]
Explicit bans on same-sex marriages were enacted in
England and Wales
in the
Nullity of Marriage Act 1971
,
[3]
and later the
Matrimonial Causes Act 1973
.
[4]
Similar laws were passed in
Scotland
and
Northern Ireland
. These bans, since repealed, did not apply to South Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Amid pressure to permit same-sex marriages and reform other "outdated" sections (such as the fact that civil marriages could only be conducted at
The Castle
and not other venues), the government agreed in 2016 to draft a new marriage ordinance.
[1]
Same-sex marriage laws
[
edit
]
Same-sex marriage
has been legal in Ascension Island since 1 January 2017,
[5]
[6]
in Tristan da Cunha since 4 August 2017,
[7]
[8]
and in Saint Helena since 20 December 2017.
[9]
Ascension Island
[
edit
]
The
Marriage (Ascension) Ordinance 2016
permitting same-sex couples to marry was approved by the
Ascension Island Council
on 31 May 2016, in a unanimous 5?0 vote.
[10]
[11]
It was signed by Governor
Lisa Honan
and published in the official gazette on 20 June.
[12]
On 23 December 2016, Honan issued an order to commence the law on 1 January 2017.
[13]
[14]
Article 2 of the ordinance reads:
"marriage" includes a marriage between persons of the same sex
Tristan da Cunha
[
edit
]
On 23 February 2017, after consultation with Governor Honan, the
Tristan da Cunha Island Council
agreed to adopt an ordinance to legalise same-sex marriage. On 4 August, the
Marriage (Tristan da Cunha) Ordinance, 2017
, extending the application of the
Marriage (Ascension) Ordinance, 2016
to Tristan da Cunha, was signed by Governor Honan and published in the official gazette. It took effect upon publication.
[15]
[16]
[17]
Saint Helena
[
edit
]
On 27 April 2016, the
Saint Helena Executive Council
announced it would hold a
public consultation
on a draft marriage ordinance, which, if approved, would allow same-sex couples to marry. The consultation lasted until 25 May,
[18]
[19]
and the results revealed that a majority of respondents were in favour of same-sex marriage.
[20]
On 15 November 2016, the Executive Council decided to allow a same-sex marriage bill to proceed to the
Legislative Council
, after the draft bill underwent a number of technical issues addressed by Attorney General Angelo Berbotto.
[21]
[22]
[23]
On 12 December 2016, after a lengthy debate, the Legislative Council passed an amendment removing provisions allowing same-sex marriage from the bill, which eventually led to the entire bill being withdrawn.
[24]
In January 2017, a same-sex couple applied to marry in Saint Helena. The registrar was in the process of obtaining legal advice as to how to proceed (the existing
Marriage Ordinance 1851
being unclear on same-sex marriage) when two members of the public filed caveats (objections) to the marriage notice. Subsequently, the registrar referred the issue to the Chief Justice of the
Saint Helena Supreme Court
for a decision. A preliminary hearing took place in the court on 23 February 2017.
[25]
The parties in the case were given until July 2017 to submit their arguments.
[26]
At a meeting of the Legislative Council on 22 September 2017, members agreed to notify the Council as to their opinions on the subject at a later meeting. This would allow another same-sex marriage ordinance to be debated before the end of the year, and avoid a Supreme Court hearing on the issue, which was expected in January 2018.
[27]
On 6 October 2017, the Legislative Council decided to conduct a series of public consultations throughout the month, consulting on two options: the introduction of same-sex marriage, or the introduction of
civil partnerships
, which critics argued would violate the
Constitution
's anti-discrimination provisions.
[28]
[29]
A petition circulated by opponents of same-sex marriage was signed by only 5% of the resident population, "demonstrating that the vast majority were either in favour of [same-sex marriage], or at least not opposed to it".
[1]
On 4 December, the Social and Community Development Committee, which conducted the consultations, recommended the Executive Council to approve the draft ordinance with one minor technical amendment, which the Executive Council did the following day.
[30]
[31]
[32]
[33]
On 19 December, after a failed attempt to remove the same-sex marriage provisions, the ordinance was approved by the Legislative Council in a 9?2 vote.
[34]
[35]
[36]
It received
royal assent
by Governor Honan, becoming the
Marriage Ordinance 2017
, and took effect upon publication on 20 December 2017.
[37]
The first same-sex marriage was performed on 31 December 2018 between Lemarc Thomas, a Saint Helenian, and his
Swedish
partner Michael Wernstedt at the
Plantation House
in
Saint Paul's
.
[38]
[39]
Religious performance
[
edit
]
The
Anglican Church of Southern Africa
does not permit same-sex marriages. Its marriage policies state that "holy matrimony is the lifelong and exclusive union between one man and one woman". In 2016, the
synod
voted against blessing same-sex unions. The decision split the church, with several
dioceses
deciding to nonetheless proceed with the blessing of same-sex relationships, notably the
Diocese of Saldanha Bay
in South Africa.
[40]
Archbishop
Thabo Makgoba
expressed disappointment with the decision not to bless same-sex unions, but added that "all is not lost", expressing hope that the matter would be debated again in the future.
[41]
In early 2023, the church once again refused to allow its clergy to bless same-sex unions, but directed the synod to develop "guidelines for providing pastoral ministry to those in same-sex relationships".
[42]
In May 2024, Archbishop Makgoba released a document recommending prayers for same-sex couples, which the synod is expected to discuss in September.
[43]
The
Anglican Diocese of Cape Town
, which also covers Tristan da Cunha, passed a resolution in 2009 to give pastoral guidelines to same-sex couples who live in "covenanted relationships". The resolution agreed to affirm "a pastoral response to same-sex partnerships of faithful commitment in our parish families."
[44]
The
Diocese of St Helena
does not possess a similar policy.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
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. Retrieved
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- ^
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.
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.
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.
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.
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