Brian Ellsworth, Don Burgess

(Reuters) – Monday’s ruling by a London tribunal that a Bermuda 2018 law banning same-sex marriage within the British overseas territory was constitutional is a break from Western trends towards gay marriage legalization.

In 2018, Bermuda’s highest court ruled that 2018 Domestic Partnership Act (which allows gay couples to create partnerships, but bans their marriage) violates Constitutional Freedom of Conscience.

In response to an appeal from Bermuda’s government, London’s Privy Council ruled Monday that the constitution doesn’t require the state’s recognition of same-sex marriages.

Our supporters frequently say that love wins. Roderick, the co-plaintiff of the legal case against law, stated that it did not this time. This was in a statement released by OUTBermuda, an LGBTQ advocacy group. “Our society cannot complete its work until every person’s humanity has been recognized, both in law and life.”

OUTBermuda asked the government for clarification on how they will deal with same-sex couples that have been legally married since 2017. In 2018, the Bermuda court had lifted the ban.

Bermuda’s government, which is a conservative, wealthy island off the Atlantic with 60,000 inhabitants, believes that domestic partners have the same rights and benefits as married couples. The ban on homosexual marriage has been supported by thousands.

The Bermuda Attorney General didn’t immediately reply to our request for comment.

According to the Privy Council, the Domestic Partnership Act did not affect freedom of conscience according to section 8 of Bermuda’s Constitution.

According to the Privy Council, “The belief of respondents falls within the scope section 8, however that belief does not get interfered with because the state fails to recognize same-sex marital status.”