COMMUNIQUE FROM CARIBBEAN CAUSE [2]
Defeat of Domestic Partnership Bill in the Cayman Islands
July 31, 2020: The Caribbean CAUSE congratulates the Members of
the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of the Cayman Islands on their decision
to reject the Domestic Partnership Bill. We also encourage the citizens
of the Cayman Islands and other territories to seek clarification on
some of the terms used by Governor Martyn Roper in his comment on the
decision by the MLA. These terms include “human rights”, “rule of law”,
“clear legal obligation” and “end discrimination against same sex
couples”.
A good place to start is with “human rights”. Where do these come from
? Human rights come from the worldview or philosophy within which the
state forms its laws and public policies. Within which worldview or
philosophy are they constructed in the Cayman Islands and why that
particular philosophy ? It is clear that the worldview for law and
public policy in the Cayman Islands acknowledges design and purpose in
the universe because the citizens of the Cayman Islands chose of their
own free will to define marriage as being between one man and one
woman. In a worldview that acknowledges design and purpose,
homosexuality is abnormal so there can be no “right” to homosexual
behaviour in the Cayman Islands. Such a claim is illogical. The people
of the Cayman Islands therefore cannot be bound to the ruling of a
court that clearly does not recognize their worldview for law and
public policy.
This brings us to “the rule of law”. ‘Rule of law’ means that all
persons and institutions are required to obey the law. Does this mean
that everyone is obligated to observe any and every ruling a court
makes? The answer to that question is No. For example, in seeking to
enforce the ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), the
Caymanian Court of Appeal relied on a worldview which was completely
different from the one on which the Caymanian constitution was based.
Had this been successful the Cayman Islands would no longer be a
democracy but rather would be under a tyrannical juristocracy. Judicial
tyranny is not an aspect of the rule of law.
Since as stated above human rights are framed in the context of a
worldview and a court does not have the authority to alter or impose
the worldview for law and public policy on the State, the claim that
the Cayman Islands have “a clear legal obligation to end discrimination
against same sex couples” is not a coherent argument in the context of
the world view reflected in the Caymanian constitution.
The Members of the Legislative Assembly who voted against the Domestic
Partnership Bill upheld both the rule of law and the democratic
tradition in the Cayman Islands by resisting a clearly flawed ruling by
the courts. They are to be applauded for their principled stand in the
face of the continued use of raw power by advocates of the Lesbian Gay
Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) ideology.
Representative contacts:
Jamaica – Dr Wayne West (876) 372-7304
Anguilla- Rev. Phillip Gumbs (264) 476-1156
Barbados- Dr Veronica Evelyn (246) 842-8088
Cayman Islands – Bishop Nicholas Sykes (345) 916-7373
Cayman Islands – Ms. Kattina Anglin (345) 922-6644
Curacao – Pastor Said Flores (599) 9560 3911
Trinidad and Tobago- Bishop Victor Gill (868) 292-0972
*******
Caribbean CAUSE is an alliance of Christian organisations that
challenge anti-biblical and anti-scientific ideologies, law and
policies in the public sphere and work towards stability and
sustainable development of the region by defending and promoting
biblical values in their respective Caribbean societies and beyond.