Same-sex marriage in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha has been legal since 2017. An ordinance to open marriage to same-sex couples in Saint Helena was passed by the Legislative Council in a 9–2 vote on 19 December 2017. It went into force the following day, and the first same-sex marriage was performed on 31 December 2018. Same-sex couples have also been able to marry on Ascension Island since 1 January 2017 and in

Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint Helena a ...

since 4 August 2017.

Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic and consisting of the island of Saint Helena, Ascension Island and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha including Gough Island. Its name wa ...

were the fourth civilian British Overseas Territory to legalise

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

, following the Pitcairn Islands,

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

and the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

Background

The

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various History of Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, ...

took possession of Saint Helena in 1659, building a fort and several houses. It became a crown colony in 1834. Ascension Island was claimed by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1815, and the archipelago of

was annexed by the British the following year and governed as a dependency of the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with t ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. Ascension and Tristan became dependencies of Saint Helena in 1922 and 1938 respectively. In 2009, the three island groups were raised to equal status with the enactment of a new constitution. A registry for marriages, burials and births was created upon the instructions of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

in 1673. Until the middle of the 19th century, marriages were performed on simple payment of a fee.

Civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Every country maintaining a pop ...

s were possible, performed by the

Governor of Saint Helena The Governor of Saint Helena is the representative of the British monarch in the United Kingdom's overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The Governor is appointed by the monarch on the official advice of His Majesty ...

. The ''Marriage Ordinance 1851'' was the first local ordinance documenting how marriages were to be legally solemnised on the islands. It required the intending spouses to provide an advance notice of marriage, and allowed the

Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

to perform religious marriage ceremonies. As non-Anglican churches became established over the years, they also obtained the right to marry people. The ''Marriage Ordinance 1851'' did not explicitly ban same-sex marriages, and used

gender-neutral language Gender-neutral language or gender-inclusive language is language that avoids bias towards a particular sex or gender. In English, this includes use of nouns that are not gender-specific to refer to roles or professions, formation of phrases in a c ...

with regards to married spouses (referring to the "parties" to a marriage). Nonetheless, a marriage between persons of the same sex was void ''ab initio'' in

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipres ...

, and thus same-sex couples were unable to marry on the islands. Explicit bans on same-sex marriages were enacted in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

in the ''

Nullity of Marriage Act 1971 The Nullity of Marriage Act 1971 was an act that defined valid reasons for annulment according to British law. This act was the first time in British law that marriage was explicitly defined by statute as being between a male and a female. A marri ...

'', and later the ''

Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 The Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (c 18) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom governing divorce law and marriage in England and Wales. Contents The act contains four parts: # Divorce, Nullity and Other Matrimonial Suits # Financial Reli ...

''. Similar laws were passed in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. These bans, since repealed, did not apply to South Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Amid pressure to permit same-sex marriages and reform other "outdated" sections (such as the fact that civil marriages could only be conducted at The Castle and not other venues), the government agreed in 2016 to draft a new marriage ordinance.

Same-sex marriage laws

Same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

has been legal on Ascension Island since 1 January 2017, in Tristan da Cunha since 4 August 2017, and since 20 December 2017 in Saint Helena.

Ascension Island

The ''Marriage (Ascension) Ordinance 2016'' permitting same-sex couples to marry was approved by the

Ascension Island Council The Ascension Island Council is an elected body that provides advice to the Administrator of Ascension Island on matters relating to the governance of Ascension Island. The Council is made up of either five or seven Councillors, depending on the ...

on 31 May 2016, in a unanimous 5–0 vote. It was signed by Governor Lisa Honan and published in the official gazette on 20 June. On 23 December 2016, Honan issued an order to commence the law on 1 January 2017. Article 2 of the ordinance reads:

Tristan da Cunha

On 23 February 2017, after consultation with Governor Honan, the

Tristan da Cunha Island Council The Tristan da Cunha Island Council is the legislature of the island of Tristan da Cunha in the Atlantic Ocean. The composition of the Island Council consists of the Administrator of Tristan da Cunha as the presiding officer, plus three appointed ...

agreed to adopt an ordinance to legalise same-sex marriage. On 4 August, the ''Marriage (Tristan da Cunha) Ordinance, 2017'', extending the application of the ''Marriage (Ascension) Ordinance, 2016'' to Tristan da Cunha, was signed by Governor Honan and published in the official gazette. It took effect upon publication.

Saint Helena

On 27 April 2016, the Saint Helena Executive Council announced it would hold a public consultation on a draft marriage ordinance, which, if approved, would allow same-sex couples to marry. The consultation lasted until 25 May, and the results revealed that a majority of respondents were in favour of same-sex marriage. On 15 November 2016, the Executive Council decided to allow a same-sex marriage bill to proceed to the Legislative Council, after the draft bill underwent a number of technical issues addressed by Attorney General Angelo Berbotto. On 12 December 2016, after a lengthy debate, the Legislative Council passed an amendment removing provisions allowing same-sex marriage from the bill, which led to the entire bill being withdrawn. In January 2017, a same-sex couple applied to marry in Saint Helena. The registrar was in the process of obtaining legal advice as to how to proceed (the existing ''Marriage Ordinance 1851'' being unclear on same-sex marriage) when two members of the public filed caveats (objections) to the marriage notice. Subsequently, the registrar referred the issue to the Chief Justice of the Saint Helena Supreme Court for a decision. A preliminary hearing took place in the court on 23 February 2017. The parties in the case were given until July 2017 to submit their arguments. At a meeting of the Legislative Council on 22 September 2017, members agreed to notify the Council as to their opinions on the subject at a later meeting. This would allow another same-sex marriage ordinance to be debated before the end of the year, and avoid a Supreme Court hearing on the issue, which was expected in January 2018. On 6 October 2017, the Legislative Council decided to conduct a series of public consultations on the bill throughout the month, consulting on two options: the introduction of same-sex marriage, or the introduction of

civil partnerships A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...

, which critics argued would violate the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

's anti-discrimination provisions. A petition circulated by opponents of same-sex marriage was signed by only 5% of the resident population, "demonstrating that the vast majority were either in favour of ame-sex marriage or at least not opposed to it". On 4 December, the Social and Community Development Committee, which conducted the consultations, recommended the Executive Council to approve the draft ordinance with one minor technical amendment, which the Executive Council did the following day. On 19 December, after a failed attempt to remove the same-sex marriage provisions, the ordinance was approved by the Legislative Council in a 9–2 vote. It received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

by Governor Honan, becoming the ''Marriage Ordinance 2017'', and took effect upon publication on 20 December 2017. The first same-sex marriage was performed on 31 December 2018 between Lemarc Thomas, a Saint Helenian, and his

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

partner Michael Wernstedt at the

Plantation House A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and e ...

in Saint Paul's.

References

{{LGBT unions and rights in the territories of the United Kingdom