Marriage Equality in the Streets of Dublin

by Michael Jones · 2009-08-07 07:58:00 UTC
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IrelandThe fight for marriage equality is happening across the globe.  After rallies last weekend in Australia that saw some of the largest demonstrations ever for marriage equality in the country, this weekend LGBT activists and allies will gather in Dublin, Ireland to push for marriage equality.

And if activists are able to pull it off, this could be the largest LGBT rights demonstration in the history of Ireland.  Organizers with the LGBT group Noise said that marriage equality goes beyond simply being a gay rights issue.

"This is not just a gay rights issue – it is a human rights issue. The right to marry is enshrined in Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but gay people in Ireland are currently denied that right," said Noise organiser, Noelle Moran.

"Sexual orientation is not a lifestyle choice – you have no more power to choose it then to choose the colour of your skin, and it is just as wrong to discriminate on this basis as it is to discriminate on the basis of race."

The rally in Ireland has spawned from debates over whether Ireland should recognize civil partnerships - which are similar to civil unions and are currently the law of the land in the United Kingdom - or go full-on out and recognize civil marriage for gay and lesbian couples.  Some LGBT groups are mixed, but activists coming out this weekend certainly aren't.  They want civil marriage over civil partnerships, full stop.

Meanwhile, the government of Ireland seems hesitant on the idea of marriage equality, suggesting that a Constitutional Referendum would be required to enact civil marriage.

Yup, it looks like the same debates we're having in states over here are also carrying out across the pond.

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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