Perhaps the chief justice should have used a different forum to express his views on what we could expect as the gay marriage issue is discussed, debated and possible legislation enacted. He may have said too much when he spoke at the Bar Association luncheon.
It is accepted that we are in a global community and we should respect the decisions that other countries make, but Bahamians have to make their own decisions and resist the temptation to fall in line because everybody else is doing what may be seen as acceptable. He states: “I have no doubt that in deciding the issue we will have respect for the decisions that emanate not only from the Commonwealth countries like Canada and Australia, but also from the decisions of the courts of the United States of America.”
The use of the word “but” should have indicated a difference between the examples cited, but there is no difference so it raises the question as to what is being said, stated or implied.
As one of the persons who will be intimately involved in any major judicial decision, he should have exercised professional discretion and reserved his comments for a private forum. However, the recent stories in our local papers do indicate that the issue is being pushed to the fore and we are going to have a discussion that could lead to another referendum. Perhaps the prime minister will do a referendum and bring it to the people so that we can decide as we should, but somehow I do not think that is going to happen.
By: Edward Hutcheson
The Bahamas
February, 2013
