Dublin City Council votes to support equal marriage
Dublin City Council has passed motions in support of opening up civil marriage to all citizens “regardless” of their sexuality.
Campaigners welcomed the move with Brian Sheehan, the director of the Dublin-based Gay and Lesbian Equality Network, saying: “This is another welcome demonstration of the transformation in attitudes to lesbian and gay people in Ireland.
“Based on the success of civil partnerships, political and public support for civil marriage is growing rapidly”.
Over four hundred lesbian and gay couples from Dublin have entered into civil partnerships since they first became available in April 2011.
However, the figures do not take into account the hundreds of lesbian and gay couples living in Dublin who have had civil marriages or civil partnerships abroad that are now recognised in Ireland as civil partnerships.
Two motions were debated together in Dublin City Council chambers on Monday night.
One was from the Labour Party the other from Sinn Fein.
Both proposed that the council support civil marriage for all citizens “regardless of race, religion or sexuality”.
“With the success of civil partnership in Ireland, the next step for Ireland is to move to full Constitutional equality for lesbian and gay people by providing access to civil marriage. This is not a massive legislative leap; it is the next step building on marriage-like civil partnership” concluded Mr Sheehan.
Last month campaigners staged a parade in support of marriage equality in Dublin City Centre.
