In January of this year, a same-sex couple launched a bid for the right to legally marry in Bermuda. This week, a packed courtroom applauded as the couple, Bermudian Winston Godwin and his Canadian fiancé, Greg DeRoche, were granted their right to wed.
While some locals supported the ruling, many were against it. Afterall, this was the same island that overwhelmingly rejected same-sex marriages less than a year ago. However, the best response came from the local paper, The Royal Gazette.
In a story headlined, "Not quite the end of the world, is it? Rather, a new awakening," the RG took a dry-witted aim at the many naysayers who often associated the legalization of same-sex unions with a rapid-approaching apocalypse. It began:
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“At not long after lunchtime yesterday, a casual look outdoors revealed the sky was not falling; nor was it red. Upon further inspection, a saunter towards the coastlines revealed there was no tsunami hurtling towards Bermuda to send us whence we came. In fact, it was a most spectacular Bermuda day; beach weather on Cinco de Mayo.”
That’s right, nothing so much as a harsh wind happened. And certainly, no tumbling sky fell at the feet of local Bermudians. Just...you know...another typical sunny day in paradise where, as the writer noted, bags of potato chips remain overpriced, and traffic continued to move at a breakneck pace.
“We are a largely religious people, and long may that be celebrated, but each passing decade of this millennium has brought with it a looking glass into a more diverse society — in our views and in our levels of tolerance,” the writer noted.
The story continued on, delving into the story of Winston and Greg, making several keen observations along the way. The write-up was a bold take on a serious issue for a newspaper catering to a conservative base.