HAMILTON, Bermuda (CMC) — A gay couple, a Bermudian man and his Canadian partner, have launched an attempt in court for the right to marry in Bermuda.

Mark Pettingill, the lawyer acting on behalf of Bermudian Winston Godwin and Canadian Greg DeRoche, told the Supreme Court on Monday that the island’s Human Rights Act took primacy in Bermuda and protected his clients’ rights to marry.

Pettingill, a government backbencher, said it was “time to write the final chapter in the protection of the rights of gay people”.

Godwin and DeRoche have brought a civil case against the Registrar-General for rejecting their application to marry.

They are seeking an order from the Supreme Court to compel the Registrar-General to post their marriage banns, in accordance with the Marriage Act. They also want a declaration that same-sex couples are entitled to be married under that law.

Pettingill, addressing Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons before a packed courtroom, said the case encapsulated “the right to happiness, the right of all people to seek love and happiness.

“The applicants say that religious arguments bear no relevance on civil contractual marriage. This is a matter of statutory interpretation.”

Godwin, who was in court, wore a T-shirt saying “Some dudes marry dudes. Get over it.”

In a referendum last June, Bermudians overwhelmingly rejected same-sex marriages and civil unions.

Describing the referendum on same-sex marriage and civil unions as “folly”, Pettingill said “it’s a minority rights issue. It is time for the courts fully armed with the legal protection of the Human Rights Act to write the final chapter in the protection of the rights of gay people of secular orientation and all the rights that everyone enjoys, to be the same.”

Among those in court were opposition Progressive Labour Party MP Wayne Furbert, an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage, and veteran entertainer Tony Brannon, who has been at the forefront of the campaign in favour.

Furbert said ahead of the court case — which is expected to last several days — that he planned to bring amendments solidifying marriage as between a man and a woman back to the House of Assembly.

Speaking on Sunday night at a prayer rally organised by a group called Preserve Marriage, Furbert said he would continue to push the amendments forward.

“I don’t know what the courts will do, but I will bring it back in June,” he said.

Furbert originally tabled amendments to the Human Rights Act to limit marriage as between a man and a woman last year. The amendments were approved by the House of Assembly, but later rejected by the Senate by a vote of six to five.