Groups 'applaud' Human Rights Act Amendment

We applaud Government’s commitment to amend the Human Rights Act 1981 to expand the protected grounds of discrimination to include sexual orientation and age to ensure fairness and dignity.

For those who have had no protection in law, these amendments are very welcome and long overdue. The inclusion of age and sexual orientation in the protected grounds of discrimination also means that the Human Rights Act moves us in the direction of conforming with fundamental human rights standards.

We look forward to seeing these long awaited amendments being introduced in the House in this session with great anticipation.

Rainbow Alliance of Bermuda statement

As a collective of people supportive of the inclusion and recognition of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) community in Bermuda, the Rainbow Alliance of Bermuda are encouraged by the OBA's pledge to amend the Human Rights Act (HRA) to include sexual orientation and age as grounds for protection from discrimination.

The expansion of the HRA to acknowledge and prevent discrimination faced by people based on their sexual orientation is a crucial step towards making Bermuda a more inclusive and accepting community and it has our full support. The amendment of the HRA has been consistently promised since 2004 and has yet to come to fruition.

The Rainbow Alliance of Bermuda urges the government to follow-through with this legislative change as quickly as possible. Combating discrimination requires more than just a change in the law, it requires an adjustment of attitudes which we hope to see modeled by the leaders of our country and community. The time has come where homophobia should not and will not be tolerated from anyone, particularly from our role models.

The Rainbow Alliance of Bermuda will continue to campaign for further policies to combat homophobia and transphobia. The Bermudian LGBTQ community experience discrimination based not only on their sexuality, but also their gender identity and The Rainbow Alliance of Bermuda will continue to advocate for increased legislative inclusiveness. We hope that Bermuda's law-makers will eventually join other nations in extending further equal rights to the LGBTQ community.

This legislation would not be possible without years of campaigning by countless activists and groups, especially Dr. John Stubbs, Two Words and a Comma, The Allan Vincent Smith Foundation, and Amnesty International Bermuda.

The Rainbow Alliance of Bermuda is proud to be counted among these groups, and would like to also thank Centre for Justice and The Chewstick Foundation for their unwavering support.