The Nassau Guardian
Christian Council president concerned about referendum
More than three months after he pledged he will not support another referendum, Bahamas Christian Council President Dr. Ranford Patterson said the constitutional amendment bills, particularly the fourth one, has “inspired” him to vote.
The bill he referred to seeks to make it unconstitutional for any law or any person acting in the performance of any public office to discriminate based on sex.
Patterson suggested the bill may pave the way for more than just eliminating discrimination against women.
“The questions I believe require that Bahamians participate, particularly that fourth question,” Patterson told The Nassau Guardian.
“We can start off by saying discrimination based on sex, but then what I did is Googled the United States Constitution as it relates to discrimination based on sex, and there is a whole lot of other stuff that is involved in that.
“If you look at the U.S. Constitution as it relates to [eliminating] discrimination based on sex, it is not just man and woman.
“It goes deeper than that.”
Following the government’s decision to ignore the result of the January 2013 gambling referendum, which was non-binding, Patterson said the government was setting a dangerous precedent.
At the time, he said he would not support the proposed constitutional referendum because it would be a waste of his time.
The majority of people who voted in the referendum last year voted against the regularization and taxation of web shops.
But Patterson said there is “no way in hell I will not let my voice be heard” in the referendum set for November 6 because of the importance of the issues.
He said everyone is equal and deserving of the same rights and he believes his colleagues share his view and support the first three bills.
He called on the government to clarify the fourth bill to ensure there is no underlining agenda.
“That is why it is so important for us to read the questions again, go over the questions again, and try to figure out what exactly we are trying to accomplish by the questions that are being asked of us,” Patterson said.
The government tabled four bills to amend the constitution last month.
The bills will institute full equality between men and women in matters of citizenship and will eliminate discrimination in The Bahamas based on sex.
Despite the government indicating that same-sex marriage is not legal and there is currently no intention of changing that, Democratic National Alliance Leader Branville McCartney said recently that the wording could lead to that.
He said the government should make the proposed amendments to the constitution simple.
Under the Matrimonial Causes Act, a marriage is void if “the parties are not respectively male and female”.
Last week, Erin Greene, a human rights activist, said she believes the fourth constitutional amendment bill will offer some form of protection to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
She said the bill is not a gay marriage bill, but there are protections that would be afforded to LGBT people if the bill is passed.
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