Same-sex marriage in Jersey

Same-sex marriage in Jersey, a Crown dependency of the United Kingdom, has been legal since 1 July 2018. The States of Jersey passed a bill allowing same-sex couples to marry on 1 February 2018, which received royal assent on 23 May 2018.

Not to be confused with Same-sex marriage in New Jersey.

Marriage
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Jersey also allows civil partnerships for same-sex couples. A bill for legalisation was signed by Queen Elizabeth II on 14 December 2011 and registered in the royal court on 6 January 2012. The law took effect on 2 April 2012.

Civil partnerships
Laws regarding same-sex partnerships in Europe¹
  Marriage
  Civil union
  Limited domestic recognition (cohabitation)
  Limited foreign recognition (residency rights)
  Unrecognized
  Constitution limits marriage to opposite-sex couples
¹ May include recent laws or court decisions that have not yet entered into effect.
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In August 2009, it was announced by the Chief Minister that a bill to allow civil partnerships (French: partenariat civil; Jèrriais: parchonn'nie civile) would be drafted and be due for introduction to the Assembly of the States of Jersey in October 2009.[1][2]

On 20 October 2009, the Assembly voted in favour of civil partnerships "in principle". The vote was 48 in favour, 1 against and 4 abstaining.[3][4][5] A draft bill legalising civil partnerships was approved by the Council of Ministers on 24 March 2011 and introduced to the Assembly on 31 May.[6][7] It was passed on 12 July 2011.[8][9] On 14 December 2011, the bill received royal assent and was registered in the royal court on 6 January 2012.[10][11] In March 2012, the Government of Jersey issued orders implementing the law, which took effect on 2 April 2012.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]

Same-sex marriage

On 28 May 2014, Deputy Sam Mézec of the Reform Jersey party submitted a proposition asking the Assembly of the States of Jersey to support, in principle, the legalisation of same-sex marriage, and to request the Chief Minister to prepare the necessary draft legislation to give effect to the proposal.[23][24][25] On 8 July 2014, the Assembly voted for an amendment to the proposal, introduced by Senator Ian Le Marquand, to request the Chief Minister to present a detailed study into the effects of allowing same-sex marriage by 31 December 2014. The amendment was passed by 24 votes to 18 and the amended proposition by 39 to 1.[26][27][28][29]

On 26 November 2014, Chief Minister Ian Gorst submitted a report, which included a commitment to introduce legislation allowing same-sex couples to get married in civil and religious ceremonies by the end of 2017, and to create safeguards for religious organisations and officials who do not wish to conduct same-sex marriages, among others.[30][31][32][33] On 14 July 2015, the Chief Minister submitted a proposition to ask the States to decide whether they agree, in principle, that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry and to request that the draft legislation necessary to implement it be introduced for approval by the States, no later than January 2017.[34][35][36] It was approved by the Assembly on 22 September 2015, 37 to 4.[37][38][39]

22 September 2015 vote in the States of Jersey[40]
Political affiliationVoted forVoted againstAbstainedAbsent (Did not vote)
     Independent (Senators) – –
     Independent (Connétables)
     Independent (Deputies) –
     Reform Jersey (Deputies) – – –
Total37417

On 14 March 2017, following an oral question by Deputy Sam Mézec, the Chief Minister stated that the bill would be lodged in anticipation for debate in the summer of 2017 and would come into force by December of the same year.[41][42][43] However, on 8 September 2017, the Chief Minister stated that the bill would be delayed and that it would not be in force until at least spring 2018.[44][45] A draft same-sex marriage bill was eventually introduced into the States of Jersey on 3 October 2017.[46][47] The States debated the bill on 16 November 2017 and agreed to its principles but sent it for further review to the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel.[48][49][50][51] The panel's report was presented to the States on 29 January 2018.[52] Controversially, the report included a recommendation asking the States to approve a "tolerance clause" in the bill, which would have allowed traders to refuse to serve same-sex couples goods and services in accordance with their religious beliefs.[52][53][54]

The "tolerance clause" was strenuously opposed by equality and diversity campaigners in Jersey. The equality charity Liberate organised an online petition that received over 5,000 signatures opposing the inclusion of the clause. The charity gathered key support from members of church groups and wedding suppliers opposing the clause.[55][56][57][58]

A final vote on the bill by the States occurred on 1 February 2018, where it passed 42–1.[59][60] The tolerance clause amendment was rejected by a vote of 40–5.[59][61] The bill was granted royal assent in the Privy Council on 23 May 2018 and registered in the royal court on 1 June.[62][63] On 26 June, the States approved a proposition to commence the law on 1 July 2018.[64][65][66][67][68] The first same-sex marriage was performed on 9 July 2018.[69][70]

1 February 2018 vote in the States of Jersey[71]
Political affiliationVoted forVoted againstAbstainedAbsent (Did not vote)
     Independent (Senators) –
     Independent (Connétables) –
     Independent (Deputies) – –
     Reform Jersey (Deputies) – – –
Total42115
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gollark: Are they overclocked to compensate or something?
gollark: Doesn't making the brains general-purpose slow down execution a bit compared to the direct-as-hardware version?
gollark: Foreign function interface...?
gollark: They eat electrons.

See also

References
  1. "Jersey States to propose Civil Partnerships", International Finance Centre, 2 September 2009
  2. "Legal rights for same sex couples", BBC News, 3 September 2009
  3. "Jersey votes to allow civil partnerships". Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  4. "New rights for homosexual couples". 20 October 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2018 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  5. "Thisisjersey.com". www.thisisjersey.com. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  6. "WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE CHIEF MINISTER BY DEPUTY J.M. MAÇON OF ST. SAVIOUR – ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 3rd MAY 2011" (PDF). Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  7. DRAFT CIVIL PARTNERSHIP (JERSEY) LAW 201
  8. "States backs civil partnerships". 12 July 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  9. Jersey, States of (20 November 2011). "Votes". Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  10. "Jersey's religious civil partnership rules near implementation". Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  11. "Jersey recognises civil partners". 1 February 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  12. "Civil Partners Causes Rules 2012". Retrieved 1 February 2018.
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  14. "Inquests and Post-Mortem Examinations (Amendment No. 8) Rules 2012". Retrieved 1 February 2018.
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  22. "Marriage and Civil Status (Forms, Registration and Fees) (Amendment No. 5) (Jersey) Order 2012". Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  23. "CIVIL MARRIAGES: SAME SEX COUPLES" (PDF). States of Jersey. 28 May 2014.
  24. "Additional information for P.102/2014". States of Jersey. 28 May 2014.
  25. "Gay marriage proposition lodged by Reform Jersey". BBC. 28 May 2014.
  26. "CIVIL MARRIAGES: SAME SEX COUPLES (P.102/2014) – SECOND AMENDMENT" (PDF). States of Jersey. 8 July 2014.
  27. "Same sex marriage law delayed in Jersey". BBC. 8 July 2014.
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  29. "Equal marriage debate on hold". ITV News Channel TV. 8 July 2014.
  30. EQUAL MARRIAGE AND PARTNERSHIP: OPTIONS PAPER REPORT – NOVEMBER 2014
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  32. Jersey, States of. "Commitment to allow same sex marriage". www.gov.je. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
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  34. "P.77/2015 Same-sex marriage, divorce and dissolution" (PDF). Retrieved 1 February 2018.
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  36. "Jersey and Guernsey could have same-sex marriage by 2017". Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  37. Jersey, States of (20 November 2011). "Propositions". Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  38. "Equal marriage proposal accepted by Jersey States". Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  39. "States supports same-sex marriage". 22 September 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2018 – via www.bbc.com.
  40. "Vote for Same-sex marriage, divorce and dissolution – paragraph (a)". 22 September 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  41. "Marriage and Civil Status (Jersey) Law: Proposed amendments". 10 January 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  42. "WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE CHIEF MINISTER BY DEPUTY S.Y. MÉZEC OF ST. HELIER – ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 14TH MARCH 2017" (PDF). 14 March 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  43. "STATES OF JERSEY OFFICIAL REPORT – TUESDAY, 14th MARCH 2017" (PDF). 14 March 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
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  51. "Same-sex marriage legislation could be approved in January". Jersey Evening Post. 18 November 2017. Archived from the original on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
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  56. Jersey, Liberate (29 January 2018). "Senior Church leaders from the Anglican and Methodist Churches call for Jersey to reject the tolerance clause". Liberate. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  57. Jersey, Liberate (29 January 2018). "Jersey wedding suppliers say 'no' to the tolerance clause". Liberate. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  58. Jersey, Liberate (31 January 2018). "Open letter to States of Jersey members ahead of the marriage debate". Liberate. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
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  66. "1 July 2018". Liberate. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  67. "Same-sex marriages to be legal from Sunday". Jersey Evening Post. 27 June 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  68. "Jersey to introduce same-sex marriage from 1 July". BBC News. 27 June 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  69. Heath, Ian (10 July 2018). "History is made Jersey as first same-sex wedding takes place". Jersey Evening Post. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  70. "First same-sex marriage in Jersey". States of Jersey. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  71. "Vote for Draft Marriage and Civil Status (Amendment No. 4) (Jersey) Law 201- (P.91/2017) Third Reading". 1 February 2018.
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