Thursday, November 1, 2007

ireland.com - Breaking News - Same-sex couples to get legal status

ireland.com - Breaking News - Same-sex couples to get legal status

Same-sex couples to get legal status

Plans to give legal recognition to same-sex couples have been announced.
Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Brian Lenihan said last night that the heads of a Bill to legislate for civil partnerships would be ready by March and detailed legislation would proceed as quickly as possible.
But the Government has ruled out gay marriage as being in conflict with the Constitution.
The Government opposed a Labour Party Bill on civil unions on the basis that the advice of the Attorney General was that it was contrary to the explicit recognition given to the family based on marriage in the Constitution.
The Green Party, which supported the Labour Bill in spring, backed the Government. The Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, said he was pleased that for the first time the State would recognise same-sex partnerships.
The Labour Party spokesman on the Constitution and Law Reform, Brendan Howlin, described the Government rejection of his party's Bill as "a shameful abdication of responsibility on the part of the three parties in Government".
Mr Lenihan said last night that many same-sex couples wanted to be recognised within society and to create mutually enforceable rights and obligations towards each other.
But he was adamant that the mechanism proposed by the Labour Party was not the way to achieve this objective because it referred to the rights and duties of marriage as similarly applying to parties to civil unions.

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