June 26, 2019

Good morning, Senator.

GAY PRIDE PARADE

Sen. Anthony Richardson: Fellow Senator Robinson
has, I guess, introduced a topic that is quite topical at
this stage. And I too have given some consideration to
it, but I think in a slightly different context.
538 26 June 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate First of all, I want to clarify that clearly, Ma dam President, I may go to a fine line and I will, obv iously, take your direction to make sure that I do not go
too far, but my concern really arose more recently
from the comments of the Commissioner in his role as the Commissioner as opposed to his personal comments, I believe. And what I want to reflect on is that
the community is very sensitised to the idea of the
proposed Pride Parade.
And we all know that, in the recent past, there
was a referendum. And I want to clarify this. There was a referendum in Bermuda, right, which I think
gave clarity to the thoughts of Bermudians around
same -sex couples, let us call it, right? The referendum
was more specific to same- sex marriages. And,
granted, based upon the technicalities that were r equired to make it a (quote/unquote) “ official referendum,” it did not pass the test. But I think, based upon
the results, it was clear that the community did not support the whole same- sex marriage. And then we,
in this Chamber, subsequently passed the Domestic
Partnership Act, which we all discussed in terms of its
being almost a compromise.
So, my real comment today, though, is that it
is a sensitive area for the community. And I was surprised that the Commissioner, acting in his role as
Commissioner, spoke to the fact that the police ser-vice would support the parade as distinct from stating
that the police service would ensure that there is the
proper maintenance of law and order, which is their
remit.
And so, yes, clearly, I do believe that the m ajority, if not all, Senators would support the idea that
no one wants to encourage any threats of violence
against anybody in the community. But my point i s
that that is where I would have thought that the Police
Commissioner would come down to ensure that the
police service will be seen to support the appropriat eness of conduct, and that law and order would obtain, and they would make sure that it would obt ain in the
circumstance.
And without going too far, my other concern is
whether or not the Commissioner has set a precedent for future community activities whereby the police service will or will not commit, from his perspective, to
supporting the goals of that activity. And it is quite i nteresting where Senator Simmons today talked about
the Theatre Boycott and how that has brought about,
to some degree, some advancement in how we interact in the community. And I would be surprised if
those sorts of things . . . For example, would the police service be seen to support those type of events?
And again, I am just trying to emphasise my personal
surprise in terms of his comment that they would support the parade as opposed to ensuring that law and
order does t ake place.
And so, my final comment would be that,
clearly, Bermuda is based upon the ability for all of us
to express how we feel without fear of personal vi o-lence. And I would almost add that the Police Commissioner’s comments do evidence that , to some degree, he is comfortable and certainly it is ac ceptable
for him to say what he wants to say in this environment.
So, it is a bit of a catch- 22, I suppose, in terms
of, yes, we can express ourselves. And the police service, though, are there to ensure that law and order
obtains. And so, I will leave that at that stage. Those
will be the essence of my comments. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Richardson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
motion to adjourn?
No?
Then, the Senat e stands adjourned until next
week, Wednesday, the 3
rd of July.
Thank you.

[At 10:53 am, the Senate stood adjourned until
10:00 am, Wednesday, 3 July 2019.]