Acting Solicitor General Reshma Sharma
outlined some of the details of the appeal to justify a stay on the
implementation of Chief Justice Anthony Smellie’s landmark ruling
that same-sex couples can now get married in the Cayman Islands.

For government's sake I hope we hear
some better arguments as what we have so far learnt is almost the
same as they outlined to the Chief Justice. And we know the outcome
of that.

Discrimination and the violation of the
couple’s rights was not mentioned.

Government's arguments for the appeal:

1 & 2. Section 14 of the Bill of
Rights, which provides for the right to marry, firstly claiming it
presents a “clear intention” to ban same-sex marriage and
secondly that it precludes the location of the right to access the
state institution of marriage within other rights.

3 &4. Chief justice gave
insufficient weight to the constitutional negotiations, and gave
undue weight to judicial decisions from other jurisdictions.

5. Chief Justice erred in concluding that the Marriage Law was based on religious grounds

6. The Chief Justice did not
acknowledge that the European Court of Human Rights only requires
civil unions, not necessarily marriage.

7. The Chief Justice had exceeded the scope of his powers of modification. It was a matter of social policy and a question only for the government to decide “if and when same-sex marriage should be introduced” to the Cayman Islands.

The Attorney, David McGrath, acting for
the same-sex couple at the centre of the controversy, said argument
#7 was “wholly without merit”.

However, the one argument that won the
day for government was the point raised by Reshma Sharma that it
risked creating a legal anomaly if same-sex couples were allowed to
marry and the Chief Justice’s decision was later overturned on
appeal.

President of the Court of Appeal, Sir
John Goldring, agreed with her. So the stay was granted and the
justices concurred the government's case had merit.

The news was greeted by a mixture of yells:

“Bigots.”

“Praise the lord, thank you, Jesus.”

Religious songs were sung outside the
Court.

However, the case is far from over.It is only a stay.

We will have to wait until August at
the next Appeals sitting for the final decision.

Government had better put up a much stronger list of arguments, then, if they want to win.

Same arguments will, in my humble
opinion, not stop marriages of the same-sex here.