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Bahamian Politics Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM


Loretta Butler-Turner Urges Full Support of Gender Equality Bills
Apr 7, 2016 - 3:42:08 PM

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NASSAU, Bahamas – Shadow Minister of Labour and Urban Development, Loretta Butler-Turner yesterday urged Bahamians to fully support the amendments to the constitution in the upcoming Gender Equality Referendum.

Speaking at the Rotary Club of Nassau Sunrise club, Mrs Butler-Turner said “unlike many countries around the world, the Bahamas is not divided along the lines of creed, caste or class, or ethnic hatred and prejudices.”

She said what we are debating in the country is whether to allow all Bahamian parent-citizens, regardless of race, creed or sex to pass on -- as a fundamental right -- citizenship to all of their children regardless of the circumstances of their birth.

“There remains inequality in our constitution,” she said, “toward a certain class of women and single men who have children with non-Bahamian woman. But this inequality is not simply toward these women and men.

“The burden of inequality is borne by the children of these individuals who, over the decades have suffered the indignity of not being fully and equally embraced as fellow citizens.”

Mrs Butler-Turner noted that it is quite disturbing that much of the debate on the proposed amendments are characterized by sexist, xenophobic and homophobic rhetoric.

“Too much of the debate is narrow-minded and uninformed by the facts.  The notion that the term “sex” in one of the amendments is somehow a pathway to same-sex marriage is a red herring, a canard and plainly wrong,” she added.

Emphasizing the words of former Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes, a founding member of the FNM and a Constitutional father, Mrs Butler-Turner remarked that it would be a great shame if we allowed all the red herrings, all the excuses, all the misinterpretations and all the predictions of calamity to prevent us from extending full constitutional equality to all Bahamians, including women.

As a long time advocate of women’s rights, Mrs Butler-Turner expressed that voting against full equality for women is akin to voting against majority rule and voting to maintain one racial group as superior to another.

“The referendum proposes to remove the last vestiges of constitutional discrimination against Bahamian women and unmarried men who have children with non-Bahamian women. In supporting the amending of the constitution I have a particular concern.

“Certain legislation will not be retroactive. This runs afoul of the principle of full equality. It is yet another variation of separate but equal. Still, despite this concern, I intend to vote for all of the amendments.

“I urge the full support of the Bahamian people for the amendments. They are long overdue and it is time for the Bahamas, in the 21st Century, to join the vast majority of the nations of the world in granting equality for all of its citizens,” she said.


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