Wed in the World: Marriage Equality News from around the World

Bermuda changes its mind, while a wedding stirs controversy in India. Plus, bad news for a Florida schoolteacher, good news for one of our favorite celebs and more.

Bermuda

Less than a year since same-sex marriage became legal in Bermuda, the island is reversing that decision. Bermuda’s Senate and House of Assembly passed the legislation by wide margins in December, but voters opposed same-sex marriage in a referendum. “The act is intended to strike a fair balance between two currently irreconcilable groups in Bermuda,” says Minister of Home Affairs Walton Brown. Bermuda is the first country to repeal marriage equality.

California

Former Metrosource cover guy Ricky Martin married conceptual artist Jwan Yosef on January 10, 2018. About his proposal, Martin told Ellen DeGeneres , “Instead of saying, ‘Will you marry me?’ I said, ‘I got you something.’ I said , ‘I want to spend my life with you.’ “

India

Hrishi Sathawane and Vinh are a California couple who were married in a ceremony in Yavatmal, Maharashtra with family and friends. The event’s legality has been questioned because, according to Indian Penal Code, gay sex is not legal. However, there is no law against the ceremony, and same-sex marriage is not explicitly illegal under Indian law. According to the grooms, “Our story is simply two souls falling in love, and getting support from family and friends, we celebrated the commitment ceremony in a private function.” The couple is currently back in the States.

Florida

Days after Jocelyn Morffi married Natasha Hass at Key Largo Lighthouse, she was fired by her Catholic school (Sts. Peter and Paul in Miami). In a heartfelt Instagram post, Morffi stated “This weekend, I married the love of my life and unfortunately I was terminated from my job as a result. In their eyes I’m not the right kind of Catholic.” The school issued a letter to parents, calling it “a difficult and necessary decision.” A spokeswoman for the Archdiocese states Morffi was fired for violating her contract.

Russia

In a strange turn of events, Russian couple Pavel Stotzko and Yevgeny Voitekhovsky, who married in Copenhagen, became the first same-sex Russians couple registered as married. When the couple submitted their passports, the Moscow clerk seems to have inadvertently stamped them as married. Once news got out, the government withdrew the passports and fired the clerk. The couple reported receiving death threats, had their electricity and internet cut off, and fled Russia.

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