Madam, – Civil Partnership legislation for same-sex couples is warmly welcomed by many Christians in Ireland, contrary to the stance taken by the conservative Christian pastors (May 5th). We in Changing Attitude Ireland, a Church of Ireland organisation with ecumenical friends, are working for the full affirmation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. As Christians we are angry and embarrassed at other Christians lining up to thwart the legitimate aspirations of loving couples who happen to be gay or lesbian.
Even without the amendment of the sort that the conservative pastors are attempting to have introduced here, in other jurisdictions State officials have attempted to play the “Christian conscience” card. Last October your newspaper carried a report from the US about a Justice of the Peace who for some years has been refusing to marry mixed race couples.
Changing Attitude Ireland has already made a submission to the Department of Justice calling on the Minister to reject the request by conservative Christian lobbyists for a “religious exemption” in the Republic’s Civil Partnership Bill to allow State registrars and business people to discriminate against same-sex couples. As an all-Ireland organisation we would like to advise readers in the Republic that no such anti-gay “freedom of conscience provision” was included in the 2005 UK Civil Partnership legislation which operates successfully in Northern Ireland. We urge the Minister to hold firm against the conservative Christian opposition and for more Christians and church leaders to come out publicly in support of gay people and to stand up to anti-gay bigotry. – Yours, etc,
A chara, – Luison Lassala (May 10th) asserts that gay unions are radically different from heterosexual marriage and that this “difference” ought to remain reflected in law in order to “protect what’s good in our society”. He went further to accuse gay-rights activists of promoting “different lifestyles”.
I am an openly young gay man and to me the only difference between a homosexual and heterosexual relationship is the gender of one of the partners. After all, most gay people are law-abiding citizens who work, pay tax, study, seek consolidating and loving relationships and want the same rights afforded to them as their straight counterparts. Is this really such a radically different “lifestyle”? The forthcoming Civil Partnership Bill still treats gay couples as second-class citizens. What is “good in our society” is for all citizens to be treated equally and not to endure discrimination by the State. Evidently this is not the case. – Is mise,