Gays to be covered in new human rights bill

FRIDAY, NOV. 2: Government will address sexual discrimination with a new bill that will offer protection for a range of characteristics including sexual orientation and age.

Governor George Fergusson made that announcement in this morning Speech from the Throne calling the current Act “outdated” for a 21^st century democracy.

In the 2011 Throne Speech Government said it would look at “the feasibility of introducing an Equality Act to address the outstanding areas of discrimination, in particular, discrimination related to sexual orientation.”

The Governor added: “Justice is about fairness and equality of access for all. Bermuda does not have that standard and it is to our collective discredit as a democratic country in the 21^st century.

“Bermuda Human Rights Act 1981 no longer meets the standard for human rights in a 21^st century democracy. Government proposes therefore to replace the outdated Act in this Parliamentary Session with a new broadly based Bill that will address protection for a range of characteristics including age and sexual orientation.”