Guam’s Catholic governor let a bill defining marriage as between two people, regardless of gender, lapse into law, rather than sign it himself.
Governor Eddie Calvo’s religious beliefs prevented him signing Bill 119-33, also called the “Guam Marriage Equality Act”.
The bill was introduced into the legislature in June, hours after the District Court of Guam struck down the island’s same-sex marriage ban.
The court ruled that the ban was unconstitutional.
The introduction of the bill, authored by Senator Nerissa Underwood, came three weeks before the US Supreme Court’s ruling supporting same-sex marriage.
The passage of the bill now means Guam’s local statute reflects the district court’s ruling.
A spokesman for Governor Calvo said the governor would not stand in the way of progress, but his religious beliefs kept him from signing the bill into law.
Guam’s Catholic Church was highly critical of the district court’s ruling in June.
“The recognition of a same-sex union, as marriage, destroys the basic fabric of society, and will destroy human beings in the process,” Archbishop Anthony Apuron of Agana said at the time.
In a statement following the Supreme Court’s decision on same-sex marriage in June, Governor Calvo said it was important to acknowledge civil rights of individuals and those of religious organisations.
“It is important that we all remember that love is at the heart of . . . the arguments to allow gay marriage and those that promote the traditional definition of marriage,” he said.
He also asked the legislature to consider freedom of religion when moving forward with legislation to reflect the Supreme Court’s decision.
“New legislation must find the balance that ensures the rights of all Guamanians are protected,” he said.
Sources
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News category: Asia Pacific.
