Cayman Lawmakers Vote For Gay Marriage Ban

Gays shouldn’t plan on getting married in the Cayman Islands. Lawmakers in the British territory voted Friday to ban same-sex marriage, but still need a third vote and a Gubernatorial signature to seal the deal:

The ban, accomplished simply by defining marriage as “the union between a man and a woman as husband and wife,” will be added as an amendment to the Marriage Law (2007 Revision) when Governor Stuart Jack signs it. Neither Mr. Jack nor officials with the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office have given any indication that they will refuse to accept the amendment.

“The people of the Cayman Islands are sending a clear signal that they do not wish to change the definition of marriage,” Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts said. “The purpose (of this amendment) is to confirm and clarify what the Marriage Law has always meant in Caymanian society.”

Tibbetts understands that British officials will likely have harsh words on the vote, so he and his peers are considering a federalist structure: laws will be imposed on a local level. Because discrimination’s much more palatable when it’s watered down.