[Updated] The Domestic Partnerships Act has passed in the Senate, with the legislation to replace same-sex marriages with a domestic partnership being approved by an 8 – 3 margin.

The Domestic Partnerships Act passed in the House of Assembly late on Friday night, and headed to the 11-member Senate, where the five Government Senators, three Opposition Senators and three Independent Senators cast their votes.

The Bill was supported by the Government and Independent Senators, while the three Opposition Senators voted no. You can read some of the Senators comments made during the debate here in our live updates.

Update: Audio of the vote count is below

Same sex marriage became legal in Bermuda following a Supreme Court decision in May 2017, when the court ruled that “common law discriminates against same-sex couples by excluding them from marriage.”

However the Bill seeks to change the legal status, with the Domestic Partnerships Act [PDF] stating, “This Bill seeks to make provision for the formalisation and registration of a relationship between adult couples, to be known as a “domestic partnership”, to clarify the law relating to marriage, and to make connected and related provision.”

As some MPs noted during the debate in the House on Friday night, if passed into law Bermuda will become the first nation to reverse same sex marriage.

As of December 2017, most reports say 26 nations have recognized same sex marriage; even though Bermuda did legalize same sex marriage in May we were generally never included in most lists, however a comprehensive list on this website listed Bermuda as well as other territories.

Minister of Home Affairs Walton Brown previously said that, “We are at this point legislatively because we have a rift in our community between two competing positions” one in support of same-sex marriage and one opposed.

Saying that there was a “high likelihood” that a Private Members Bill would have been tabled in Parliament which would have outlawed same-sex marriage and afforded no rights to same-sex couples,” the Minister said the Government “took leadership on the issue and has decided to bring forward this Bill, which will ensure that same-sex couples will have a raft of legal benefits.”

The Bill will now head to the Governor for assent.

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