Bermuda Fears Tourism Hit as Same-Sex Marriage Reversal Draws Lawsuit
Photo Credit: Bermuda tourism is worried about the impact of a same-sex marriage reversal. Pictured are tourists at Horseshoe Bay Beach in Bermuda. Flickr / Jeremy T. Hetzel
Skift Take
By banning same-sex marriage, Bermuda is being the wrong kind of trailblazer, many travelers, companies, and human rights organizations would argue. We've seen how much similar discriminatory legislation has stung other destinations and left a bad impression.
Many destinations are beginning to market to LGBTQ travelers and promote same-sex weddings. But Bermuda, which initially legalized same-sex marriage last year, is going in the opposite direction and facing legal action over a new ban on same-sex marriages.
OUTBermuda, a non-profit that advocates for LGBTQ rights in Bermuda, filed a lawsuit this week against Bermuda's attorney general to get the same-sex marriage ban repealed. Same-sex marriage remains legal as the ban isn't expected to take effect until June. Existing same-sex marriages will remain valid. Voters earlier had expressed support for banning same-sex marriages.
Early signs of a chilling effect are showing. Bermuda became the first country in the world to repeal same-sex marriage earlier this year, and the government's decision has drawn the backlash of many travelers and celebrities, some of whom are calling for a tourism boycott of the island.
Maryellen Jackson, an openly gay Bermuda resident and teacher, is a co-
