Are same-sex marriages contributing to Saipan\u2019s tourism industry?<\/p>\n
Based on the Saipan Mayor\u2019s Office\u2019s record of marriages, the CNMI has seen a 115% jump in the number of same-sex marriages being performed on the island, with 207 recorded from January to September this year, compared to the 96 recorded during same period in 2018.<\/p>\n
Of these same-sex marriages this year, 39 are male-couple marriages, and 168 are female couples. The increase came from female couples, with last year\u2019s count at 59. <\/p>\n
While there have been such marriages among island residents, majority of the same-sex marriages are Chinese, according to Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of our same-sex marriages are actually coming from China,\u201d Apatang said. \u201cI think it is easier for them to come here and get married. They can come to Saipan overnight, schedule a marriage through us [Saipan Mayor\u2019s Office], come here, pay, and then we will perform their marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Apatang officiated the first same-sex marriage on the island in July 2015, after it become legal in the Commonwealth on June 26, 2015, following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that it is unconstitutional to ban same-sex marriages.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have long supported the right of same sex couples to legally marry if they choose to enjoy the same privileges and protections as married heterosexual couples,\u201d Rep. Tina Sablan (Ind-Saipan) said. Sablan is a Pride Marianas ally, and a supporter of same-sex marriages.<\/p>\n
\u201cLove is love,\u201d Sablan added. \u201cIt transcends everything. And I\u2019m proud of our Marianas community for creating such a welcoming space for love in all its wonderful and diverse expressions.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the CNMI Ally Week celebration last September, the CNMI government recognized, through a proclamation, the progress made in expanding LGBTQ rights, as a reflection of advancing human rights, on the island.<\/p>\n
Another ally, Northern Marianas Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence executive director Maisie B. Tenorio, stresses that the roots of violence are nourished by oppressive belief systems.<\/p>\n
\u201cI look forward to the day that every single human will know that freedom. It\u2019s about time we focus our energies on fighting oppression and violence, and celebrating love,\u201d Tenorio said, adding that violence thrives on the belief that certain groups have the rights to oppress other groups.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs an ally and an advocate for the rights of all humans, I feel that people, no matter their gender or orientation, should be able to love and marry, if they believe in it, whomever they choose,\u201d Tenorio said. \u201cOur world needs more love and we should be celebrating all the ways that people love each other, not building walls and creating barriers.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Are same-sex marriages contributing to Saipan\u2019s tourism industry? Based on the Saipan Mayor\u2019s Office\u2019s record…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-312323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=312323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312323\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}