The Irish Labour party is to reintroduce a private member's bill in the country's Parliament next week in an attempt to legalise civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. LGBT activists in Ireland are urging people to contact their members of Parliament and lobby for the legislation. In February an earlier attempt by the opposition Labour party to legalise same sex unions in the Republic was defeated. The Irish government said that the bill proposed by Labour would not comply with the constitution, but pledged to introduce their own legislation later this year. Justice Minister Michael McDowell told Irish MPs (called TDs) at the time that the state is constitutionally required to uphold the institution of marriage. Mr McDowell lost his seat in last May's elections. Article 41 of the Irish constitution says the institution of marriage is to be protected, but does not define what marriage is. Homosexuality was only decriminalised in the Republic of Ireland in 1993, but since then the country has embraced gay rights. Both discrimination and incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation are illegal. A recent opinion poll found 84% in favour of some sort of recognition for lesbian and gay couples. Northern Ireland, as part of the UK, has had same-sex civil partnerships since December 2005.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Friday, 26th October 2007 - 11:20am