The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THERE is a good chance that the long promised referendum on gender equality will still happen this year, Constitutional Commission Chairman Sean McWeeney said yesterday, adding that it could happen “quite late” in 2015.

Mr McWeeney also revealed to The Tribune that the commission has finished consulting with parliamentarians on the legislation to effect the vote, however he expects three or four of them to oppose at least one of the proposed Constitutional amendments.

That would likely be Bill number four, he said, which calls for an end to discrimination based on one’s sex, a fact some say would open the door to same sex marriage.

Although Prime Minister Perry Christie has repeatedly said his government would not move forward with the referendum if parliamentarians do not unanimously support it, Mr McWeeney said he expects the government to still hold the vote without full agreement.

“We interacted as best as we were able to with parliamentarians that had more than one issue. We were successful in some places but in others, positions remained as hard as they were before. We respect the rights of parliamentarians to differ. We don’t think the whip was on anybody. There will still be an overwhelming majority in both Houses (of Parliament) and parties that support the bills.”

One Opposition parliamentarian is among those expected to oppose one of the proposed amendments.

“One FNM member of Parliament who has very strong views on bill four told us his views have not moderated,” he said. “One or two PLP parliamentarians have similar concerns. I would expect you probably would have three; possibly four people voting against bill number four. We respect their positions. We give credit to their position to the extent that we are satisfied that these positions spring from deeply held beliefs. We would still go forward. The numbers of those who oppose are sufficiently small, indicating they do not represent the mainstream view.”

The four bills must each be approved by at least three quarters of the House of Assembly and Senate before a referendum can be held.

Former PLP MPs Greg Moss and Dr Andre Rollins, who are both now independent representatives, have said they oppose bill four.

FNM MPs Hubert Chipman and Neko Grant have also previously expressed concern about the wording of that bill.

Meanwhile, the commission continues its efforts to educate Bahamians on the referendum, hosting meetings at church groups and civic organisations “every week,” according to Mr McWeeney.

He added that he doesn’t expect the recent US Supreme Court ruling legalising same-sex marriage nationwide to have an impact on the referendum.

“I don’t think (it will),” he said. “I’m told by teams that went into the community in Nassau, Grand Bahama, and the Family Islands since then that the referendum has not picked up negative static over that. People understand that the US is a much more developed democracy than ours is and is considerably more advanced. It therefore didn’t come as a great shock that the US Supreme Court did that. The main point here is that people are satisfied based on the commission’s efforts that the (argument that bill number four could lead to same sex marriage) is a complete red herring.”

Finally, Mr McWeeney dismissed the notion that the delay in hosting the referendum shows the matter is not a top priority for the government.

“I don’t think that’s fair to say that,” he said. “I think the process has slowed down for a variety of reasons, not least of which is the level of unanimity we sought didn’t pan out. The commission had to take a great deal of time to deal with that particular issue. We even went to the extent of getting a formal legal opinion from a top gender discrimination specialist in the UK. And in addition to resistance from some people, which we wanted to deal with, there have been other important issues that have understandably distracted the government. Baha Mar is the most recent example where the government’s attention is fixated on that and still is. The annual budget takes centre stage for a two, three months period as well.”

The proposed referendum has been delayed several times. It was first expected in mid-2013.