A chara, - In arguing the case for gay marriage, Colm Fahy (Opinion, July 24th) quotes from a piece I wrote advocating civil union as a model to end discrimination against same-sex couples. He describes civil union as an "abuse of the human dignity and equality rights of gay people". This is inherently unfair.
Civil union would alleviate significant hardship imposed by discriminatory legal and taxation regimes currently in place. A foreign partner of an Irish citizen would no longer have to fear, day after day, that gardaí will call to the door with deportation orders; a situation that a heterosexual couple would not have to face. Same-sex couples would no longer be forced to pay more income tax than heterosexual couples who choose to marry.
Pension benefits could no longer be denied to a couple purely on the basis of their sexual orientation. Gay and lesbian parents (by previous relationship, surrogacy or adoption outside the State) would no longer be forced to live in a precarious legal situation, which puts their children at risk.
While I agree with much of Mr Fahy's ideology on the institution of marriage, his claim that those advocating civil union "care insufficiently for real equality" is untrue.
As a law student, Mr Fahy will be aware of what is required to change the existing definition of marriage, i.e. an amendment to the Constitution, which ultimately requires a referendum. Such a change would take many years to achieve.
Yet civil union is a real possibility which could end discrimination against same-sex couples within a number of months.
Quite frankly I don't care if you call it "civil union", "gay marriage" or "dance of the sugar-plum fairy" so long as same-sex partnerships are recognised in law, discrimination is ended and real, practical results are achieved for same-sex couples suffering significant hardship.
- Is mise,
TADHG O'BRIEN, National Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual Rights Officer, Union of Students in Ireland, Grattan Street, Dublin 2.