Less than a year after legalizing marriage equality, Bermuda passed a law last month to ban same-sex marriage once again.
Same-sex couples have until the end of May to wed there before the new measure goes into effect. The self-governing British territory became the first to reverse its stance on the issue, according to GLAAD, as countries increasingly move to legalize marriage between people of any gender.
Now, a pack of celebrities, including Ellen DeGeneres, Tegan and Sara and Patricia Arquette, are calling to boycott the vacation hot spot ― at least until its residents make equality the law of the tiny land.
“I guess I’m canceling my trip,” DeGeneres tweeted Thursday evening. “Anyone else?”
Actor Bradley Whitford called for a boycott last month, shortly after the news broke.
Later in February, Arquette also called on followers to boycott Bermuda.
On Wednesday, pop duo Tegan and Sara sent a tweet saying they were “thinking of our friends in the LGBTQ community in Bermuda,” and encouraged followers to support efforts to overturn the policy.
Bermuda’s Supreme Court ruled in May 2017 that a registrar’s decision to deny a marriage license to a same-sex couple was discriminatory, legalizing marriage equality in the socially conservative Atlantic territory.
Legislators responded by creating the Domestic Partnership Act, which allows same-sex couples to form domestic partnerships, not marriages, and claims to offer such partnerships equal rights. Same-sex couples who are already married in Bermuda can remain married.
Critics say the law contradicts Bermuda’s constitution, which protects against discrimination.
Some worry the law will create problems for Bermuda’s $431 million tourism industry. Cruise lines registered in Bermuda ― including Carnival’s Cunard, P&O Cruises and some Princess cruises ― will not be able to host same-sex marriages regardless of where the ships travel, CNBC reported.
The LGBTQ segment of the global tourism industry is significant and growing, according to a 2017 report by the World Tourism Organization, which states that locations supportive of LGBTQ rights are (unsurprisingly) appealing to LGBTQ travelers.
GLAAD has called on tourism businesses to speak out against Bermuda’s reversal on marriage equality.
“These brands and their business leaders should demonstrate true leadership and stand for those customers they’ve courted by helping to combat this harmful decision,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement.
A CrowdJustice campaign has raised 25,000 pounds (about $35,000) of a 50,000-pound goal (about $70,000) to finance efforts to reclaim marriage equality in Bermuda.
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