As Bermuda marks the 2025 Pride parade today, I find myself reflecting not just on the strength and vibrancy of our LGBTQ+ community, but also on how far we still have to go.

The road to marriage equality in Bermuda is one of the clearest examples of how party politics can obstruct progress — not accelerate it. It is also a sobering reminder of the power that elected officials wield when legislation is guided by partisanship rather than principle.

From the outset, let me be clear: I stand on the side of human rights for all people. That is what I have told constituents who have asked me where I stand on marriage equity, and it is a position I hold with conviction. I have considered all sides of this issue, and each time I come to the same conclusion: equality is equality.

Over time, and especially through my work in advocacy, I have come to understand something fundamental: true advocacy must be inclusive. It must extend to the people and injustices that don’t directly affect me. Otherwise, it is not advocacy; it’s simply convenience.

Our legislators are meant to be advocates. Not only for their supporters. Not only for the people who look like them or love like them. But for all Bermudians.

And yet, the story of marriage equity in Bermuda tells a different tale.

A timeline of political obstruction

As a student of history, I know the value of looking back to understand how we got here. So, if you’ll indulge me, allow me to briefly recap the timeline of events as it relates to marriage equity here in Bermuda.

In 2013, Bermuda took a critical first step by amending the Human Rights Act to include “sexual orientation” as a protected ground, an addition often referred to as “two words and a comma”. Although modest in language, this legislative change was monumental in its impact, making it illegal to discriminate against someone based on their sexual orientation.

In 2015, Bermuda’s Supreme Court ruled in favour of same-sex couples’ right to adopt. A year later, the Government held a referendum on same-sex marriage and civil unions. It failed to reach the required 50 per cent voter turnout, rendering it nonbinding. Still, a majority of those who did vote said no to both.

Despite this, in 2017, the Supreme Court once again acted in defence of rights, ruling in Godwin v Registrar-General that same-sex couples could legally marry under the protections of the Human Rights Act. It was a moment of justice, and many believed it marked a turning point.

But that moment proved to be fleeting, as politics soon intervened.

In July 2017, the Progressive Labour Party won the General Election with a strong majority. Sadly, one of its early moves was to introduce the Domestic Partnership Bill, legislation that sought to replace marriage equality with a separate legal framework. The Bill created a new category of “domestic partnership” available to both same-sex and heterosexual couples, but crucially, it revoked the right of same-sex couples to marry.

By February 2018, the Bill became law, effectively stripping away marriage rights that had been affirmed by the courts just months earlier. Bermuda made global headlines as the first jurisdiction to legalise same-sex marriage, only to repeal it.

It is important to highlight that the vote on the Domestic Partnership Bill in the House of Assembly was not a conscience vote. It was a whipped vote, with PLP members expected to follow the party line. The Bill passed 24-10, demonstrating how party politics, not personal conviction or public consultation, drove this regressive legislation.

Activists pushed back. The courts again ruled the ban unconstitutional in June 2018, affirming that the Domestic Partnership Act violated fundamental rights. The Government chose to appeal the decision, and in November, the Court of Appeal upheld the ruling that same-sex marriage must be allowed. For a brief moment, equality was restored.

But the legal battle didn’t end there. The Government pursued a final appeal to the Privy Council, the highest court of appeal for Bermuda, at the public’s expense. In March 2022, the Privy Council overturned the previous ruling, declaring that the Domestic Partnership Act did not violate Bermuda’s Constitution. And just like that, after years of legal wrangling that cost not just dignity and time, but taxpayer dollars too, marriage equity in Bermuda no longer existed.

OutBermuda, the island’s only LGBTQ+ charity, has called this repeal a grave injustice and urged the Government to restore marriage equality and repair Bermuda’s international reputation on human rights. Its recent policy manifesto outlines not just the need for full equality under the law, but tangible steps for how the Government can support and protect LGBTQ+ Bermudians today.

People over politics

This back-and-forth legal history is not just about legislation; it’s about people. About Bermudians whose lives, loves, and families have been treated like political footballs. This reflection has shown clearly how partisan agendas can delay and derail fundamental rights — rights that should never have been up for debate.

What this tells us, painfully and clearly, is that party politics is not always aligned with the people’s wellbeing. And when that happens, we all lose.

If we are to truly become a society that values justice and inclusion, we must start with leadership that puts human rights, dignity and fairness above political calculations. Leadership that reflects the full diversity of Bermuda and governs in service of all its people.

A call for courage

I know that embracing inclusive leadership can be uncomfortable. I have had to confront long-held beliefs of my own. Beliefs that were shaped by culture, community and faith instead of the lived realities of others. That process was not easy, but it was necessary. Because if we are serious about equality, we must lead with courage, even — or perhaps especially — when our decisions challenge the status quo. That is what leadership requires: doing what is right, even when it’s hard.

Marriage equality is not an LGBTQ+ issue. It is a human rights issue. And Bermuda’s treatment of it is a cautionary tale about what happens when our leaders are more loyal to their party than to the rights of their people.

May this Pride weekend serve as a call to action because Pride is, and always has been, a form of protest. And because every one of us deserves to be represented, respected and protected under the law.

• Juanae Crockwell ran as an independent candidate in Southampton West Central (Constituency 31) in the February 2025 General Election