Same-sex marriage in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

An ordinance to open marriage to same-sex couples in Saint Helena was passed by the Legislative Council in a 9–2 vote on 19 December 2017.

Ascension Island was claimed by the United Kingdom in 1815, and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha was annexed by the British the following year and governed as a dependency of the Cape Colony in South Africa.

[1] Nonetheless, a marriage between persons of the same sex was void ab initio in common law, and thus same-sex couples were unable to marry on the islands.

[1] Same-sex marriage has been legal in Ascension Island since 1 January 2017,[5][6] in Tristan da Cunha since 4 August 2017,[7][8] and in Saint Helena since 20 December 2017.

[15][16][17] On 27 April 2016, the Saint Helena Executive Council announced it would hold a public consultation on a draft marriage ordinance, which, if approved, would allow same-sex couples to marry.

Subsequently, the registrar referred the issue to the Chief Justice of the Saint Helena Supreme Court for a decision.

This would allow another same-sex marriage ordinance to be debated before the end of the year, and avoid a Supreme Court hearing on the issue, which was expected in January 2018.

[30][31][32][33] On 19 December, after a failed attempt to remove the same-sex marriage provisions, the ordinance was approved by the Legislative Council in a 9–2 vote.

[42] In May 2024, Archbishop Makgoba released a document recommending prayers for same-sex couples,[43] which the synod rejected in September.

[44] The Anglican Diocese of Cape Town, which also covers Tristan da Cunha, passed a resolution in 2009 to give pastoral guidelines to same-sex couples who live in "covenanted relationships".

The resolution agreed to affirm "a pastoral response to same-sex partnerships of faithful commitment in our parish families.