LGBT rights headings:

What rights do same-sex couples and their families have?

What does this mean for same-sex couples?

Why gay civil marriage and not civil unions or partnership?

So what are the Irish government doing about this?

What can you do about this?

What about European laws? Do they not give us rights too?

LGBT RIGHTS

Why gay civil marriage and not civil unions or partnership?

There are many good reasons:

• First and foremost, equality is not possible through the other two options. Equality means equal choice, equal protections, equal status, duties and responsibilities. Equal rights means having the exact same rights, not two sets of rules for two different groups. If gay people are give different rights and different options, this will only serve to continue the alienation of LGBT citizens in Irish society and in Irish law. Different but equal is not equal.
• The Irish Constitution protects marriage; there is no mention of civil union or partnership in this important document. Gay civil marriage would allow same-sex couples immediate equal rights and importantly would provide numerous gay families the protections they are currently denied. Marriage will also give a non-Irish partner the right to legally reside in Ireland. Non-marital families are not recognised under Irish law and are excluded from the protections of the Domestic Violence Act 1996, Parental Leave Act 1998, and the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 to name but a few.
• Marriage is a civil right, just as divorce is. While many opposite-sex Irish couples currently choose to get married in a Catholic church, that church will not recognise your divorce; Irish law will. The Irish Constitution does not state that marriage is between a man and a woman, therefore, gay civil marriage has not been proven unconstitutional. Only the Irish Supreme Court can define the meaning of marriage in the constitution. The government decided to define marriage as a union between two people of opposite gender in 2004 in the Civil Registration Act, a pre-emptive move by a conservative government that was perhaps unnerved by the changing situation on gay civil marriage in Europe. Gay civil marriage currently exists in Spain, Belgium and Holland; it is also legal in Canada, the Republic of South Africa and the State of Massachusetts. Unless we have full civil marriage, couples moving to Ireland from such countries will lose many of their civil rights when they do so.