By Staff Reporter | NewsAmericasNow.com

News Americas, ROAD TOWN, British Virgin Islands, Mon. May 11, 2026: British Virgin Islands Premier Natalio Wheatley has defended the decision by elected leaders to exclude same-sex marriage from the territory’s next constitution, even as negotiations with the United Kingdom continue and a related court challenge remains active.

Elected leaders recently accepted a recommendation from the Constitutional Review Commission to amend Section 20 of the Constitution to explicitly define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Lawmakers subsequently expanded the wording further, agreeing that marriage should be defined specifically as a union between a man and woman of the opposite sex at birth – language intended, according to legislators, to provide greater constitutional certainty.

Premier Speaks At Public Engagement Session

The issue came to a head during a public engagement session on constitutional negotiations this week, when a resident directly challenged Premier Wheatley on why the government was choosing to deny same-sex marriage and what role the government should play in protecting minority rights – particularly while a court challenge involving same-sex marriage remains active in the territory.

Wheatley responded carefully, saying he did not wish to comment extensively given the active court proceedings.

“I don’t want any of my comments to impact the court proceedings,” the Premier said.

However, he stressed that the negotiating team remains mindful of internationally recognized human rights standards – particularly those linked to the European Convention on Human Rights, which the United Kingdom has extended to the BVI. “What I can assure you is the concept of adhering to principles, particularly the European Convention on Human Rights, is really foremost in our minds,” Wheatley said.

Room For Other Forms Of Partnership

The Premier also suggested that while marriage may continue to be traditionally defined in the constitution, there could still be accommodation for other forms of partnerships without discrimination – stopping short of elaborating on what specific legal framework that might involve.

Wheatley argued that BVI society is capable of holding both positions simultaneously. “At the very same time, ensuring that we defend and represent our culture, our heritage and our way of life,” he said. “I believe that in a tolerant society that we have here today, that it’s possible for those two things to coexist.”

UK Negotiations Still To Come

Critically, the constitutional proposals – including the marriage definition – are not yet final. The recommendations adopted by elected leaders remain subject to formal constitutional negotiations between the BVI and the United Kingdom before any final decision is made, leaving the door open for further debate and potential modification.

The tension between the BVI’s traditional cultural values and the human rights framework of the European Convention – which the UK has extended to its overseas territories – is expected to be a central point of discussion in those negotiations.

The outcome will be watched closely across the Caribbean, where several territories and independent nations are navigating similar debates around marriage definitions, minority rights, and the extent to which colonial-era legal frameworks should shape modern constitutions.

By Dr. Isaac Newton 

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Sun. May 10, 2026: This Mother’s Day, my mother is 87. Some mornings, she forgets what happened a few minutes ago, yet remembers stories from fifty years ago as though they happened yesterday. At times, she pauses in the middle of a sentence searching for a word, but she never forgets to ask, “Did you eat?” or “Did you pray?” Even now, while living between memory and fading moments, she still finds the strength to love, guide, and watch over her children, grandchildren, and the many sons and daughters life placed in her path. Looking at her has taught me something that reaches deep into the soul. Motherhood is not measured by youth, money, or perfect health. It is measured by how a woman continues to pour light into others even while time slowly takes pieces of her away.

This is the story of so many women across Liberia, Antigua and Barbuda, Kenya, Jamaica, Ethiopia, St. Lucia, and far beyond. Women who sold fruit in burning heat while hiding their own hunger. Women who washed school uniforms late into the night so their children could walk into class with pride the next morning. Women who buried their own dreams so their children could discover new ones. Some are still breathing fresh air. Others now sleep in death. Yet their influence still lives everywhere. It lives in the confidence of a teacher, the discipline of a nurse, the courage of a young business owner, the wisdom of a father, and the compassion of leaders who once sat at tiny kitchen tables listening to exhausted mothers whisper, “Do not give up.”

The painful truth is that many of these women were praised for strength while being denied gentleness, rest, love, and support. Entire societies leaned on mothers while forgetting that mothers also need someone to lean on. Too often, a woman became invisible the moment she stopped fixing problems, cooking meals, or sacrificing herself for everyone else. Yet children absorb more than words. They absorb emotions, tension, peace, fear, joy, and silence. When a mother lives with constant exhaustion deep in her spirit, a child can grow up believing love means disappearing for the sake of others. That is why healing mothers is not a small personal issue. It shapes families, communities, and entire nations.

The world speaks endlessly about leadership, innovation, and national development, yet some of humanity’s greatest lessons were born inside humble homes with leaking roofs, empty cupboards, and praying mothers. Before titles, degrees, and boardrooms existed, women were already teaching resilience, discipline, wisdom, humor, faith, and emotional strength. From the hills of Ethiopia to the shores of St. Lucia, from the busy streets of Nairobi to the communities of Jamaica, mothers have steadily held the human spirit together through war, poverty, migration, heartbreak, and disappointment. Many never called themselves leaders. The world still rose because of them.

So when I think about my mother now, standing somewhere between remembering and forgetting, I do not see weakness. I see the face of a generation of women whose love survived hardship without allowing bitterness to become their final song. And maybe that is the mystery of motherhood. True greatness is rarely loud. Sometimes it sounds like an elderly woman praying softly for people who forgot to thank her. Sometimes it looks like a mother giving hope long after her own strength should have faded. Long after famous names are forgotten and monuments turn to dust, the human heart will still remember the women who taught it how to love deeply, endure pain, forgive freely, and rise again with fire still burning in the soul.

Editor’s Note: Dr. Isaac Newton is a leadership strategist and vision impact expert specializing in effective governance, accountability, ethical leadership, and human flourishing. Educated at Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia, he advises leaders, educators, boards, and institutions across the Caribbean and internationally. His work blends psychology, leadership, governance, and human development to help people and organizations build cultures marked by wisdom, dignity, courage, and transformational impact.

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