Pitcairn Islands, population 48, pass equal marriage

The Pitcairn Islands have become the latest country to legalise same-sex marriage.

The last British Overseas territory in the South Pacific – which has just 48 permanent residents and is often considered the world’s smallest county – passed the measure last month, the Guardian reports.

Pitcairn deputy governor Kevin Lynch revealed today (June 22) that the new law came into effect on May 15, but wasn’t initially publicised after the island’s website encountered technical difficulties.

He said the change was suggested by British authorities before being passed unanimously by the local council.

Resident Meralda Warren said there had been no same-sex marriages since the law passed, and she did not even know of any gay couples on the island.

“It’s not Pitcairn Islanders that were pushing for it,” she said. “But it’s like anything else in the world. It’s happening everywhere else, so why not?”

The seventh-generation islander added that the new law hadn’t even been a topic of discussion among residents, and that she was surprised by the global coverage it had received.

“I kind of cracked up when I saw the Google alert in my inbox,” she said. “I scanned down and smiled again, and thought, ‘We’ve kept that one quiet for a couple of months.’”

She added that knew of just one islander who had identified as gay, and that was a long time ago.

Rodney Croome, the national director of the same-sex advocacy group Australian Marriage Equality, said even if there were no gay couples living on Pitcairn, the passage of equal marriage sent an important message to the world.

“It shows how much the islanders value equality and inclusion,” he said. “It effectively says that gay islanders belong on Pitcairn Island as much as anyone else, and that’s a positive message.”

Five other countries have legalised same-sex marriage this this year alone – Finland, Slovenia, Ireland, Greenland, and most recently, Mexico.

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