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<p>The Domestic Partnership Act will withdraw the entitlement for same sex couples
to marry and replace it with a provision for domestic partnerships for all couples,
regardless of gender. Same sex couples entering into a 'domestic partnership' will
be entitled to the same benefits as married couples. Those who have been legally married
in Bermuda since the Supreme Court decision in May 2017, will retain their married
status and have the same legal rights as those in domestic partnerships. The Supreme
Court ruling permitted same sex couples in Bermuda to marry, but it did not address
the entitlement of same sex couples to the same benefits as opposite sex married couples.
The Act now put those rights on a clear statutory footing. Less than a year ago, same
sex couples had no legal recognition at all under Bermudian law.</p><p>The Minister
for the Commonwealth and the UN raised the issue of human rights including LGBT rights
and the need to ensure that our collective human rights obligations are upheld, in
his meeting with the Bermuda Premier in October 2017, and at the Overseas Territories
Joint Ministerial Council in November 2017.</p><p>Officials have engaged on a regular
basis with the Government of Bermuda, and with all of the Overseas Territories to
encourage and promote LGBT equality.</p>
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