Northern Ireland
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10 September 2012Northern Ireland: Green leader pushes for equal marriage 3 A private member’s motion to debate equal marriage, which previously failed to gain support, during the last session of Northern Ireland’s Legislative Assembly, has been resubmitted for the coming year. -
23 August 2012Northern Ireland: Retired Church of Ireland cleric backs calls for marriage equality to be legalised 10 A retired senior Church of Ireland cleric has called for marriage equality to be made legal. -
20 August 2012Ulster councillor withdraws ‘gay disease’ remark 38 An Ulster Unionist councillor has taken back a series of comments he made in which he compared homosexuality variously to a “disease” and a "disability" during a debate on marriage equality. -
3 August 2012Protest against Northern Irish gay blood donation ban 20 Calls for the Northern Irish Health Secretary to step down were voiced at an angry protest against the ban on gay blood donation in Londonderry. -
1 August 2012Lord Mayor of Belfast first DUP representative to attend Pride event 35 The Lord Mayor of Belfast, a councillor for the Democratic Unionist Party whose members have made numerous anti-gay comments in recent years, has attended a Pride event in the city. -
23 July 2012Northern Ireland: Peer reignites argument over ‘perverse’ equal marriage 46 After suggesting marriage rights for gay couples were a 'rung on the ladder' to legalising sex with animals, Lord Maginnis has said he is 'disgusted' that a Tory think tank supports the move and will campaign to challenge its private funding streams. -
11 July 2012Northern Ireland: Equal marriage campaign group launched 13 A new campaigning group, Equal Marriage NI, has been launched to push for marriage equality between gay and straight couples in Northern Ireland. -
4 July 2012Northern Ireland: Public meeting on equal marriage in Belfast tomorrow 7 A free public conference will be held tomorrow evening in Belfast to unite supporters of equal marriage rights for gay and straight couples in Northern Ireland into a new campaigning group. -
19 June 2012Lord Maginnis warns withdrawal of whip over anti-gay comments was ‘a gross mistake’ 24 Lord Maginnis has described the Ulster Unionist Party's decision to withdraw the party whip from the former MP as a 'gross mistake' and said he should 'examine his position'.
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18 June 2012Northern Ireland: Police officers disciplined over inadequate response to homophobic crimes 22 Eight police officers at a station in County Down, Northern Ireland, have been disciplined after a gay couple complained about inadequate response to reports of homophobic crimes. -
17 June 2012Northern Ireland: Health minister retains ban on gay people donating blood, faces growing criticism 120 The health minister of Northern Ireland has decided to retain the current ban on gay people donating blood, citing two works of research which he claims strengthened his position.
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17 June 2012Party whip withdrawn from Lord Maginnis over homophobic remarks 30 The leader of Ulster Unionist Party has withdrawn the party whip from Lord Maginnis over his homophobic remarks.
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14 June 2012Northern Ireland: Ulster Unionist Party to hold extraordinary meeting on equal marriage 12 The leader of the Ulster Unionist Party has called for an extraordinary meeting of its policy makers in order to affirm the party's position on equal marriage, the BBC reports. -
13 June 2012Northern Ireland survey: Four in ten would object to a relative’s gay relationship 65 A survey into social attitudes and discrimination in Northern Ireland has found a quarter of people would object to having a gay or bisexual neighbour and four in ten would object to a close relative forming a relationship with a gay or bisexual person. -
23 May 2012Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Owen Paterson, opposed to equal marriage 89 The Tory MP Owen Paterson, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, has become the first cabinet member to publicly declare his opposition to marriage equality. -
15 May 2012Comment: Gays must be more involved if the Church of Ireland is to be more inclusive 16 Stephen Spillane writes that gay members of the Church of Ireland must immerse themselves more following its recent vote on marriage and 'normative' relationships. -
14 May 2012Church of Ireland Synod: Gay relationships cannot be ‘normative’ 68 The General Synod of the Church of Ireland has passed a motion confirming its opposition to the recognition of gay marriages and describing straight unions as the only 'normative' context for a sexual relationship. -
11 May 2012Church of Ireland withdraws controversial marriage motion from debate 9 A motion to affirm the Church of Ireland's view of straight marriage as being the "only normative context for sexual intercourse" has been removed from this week's General Synod meeting after it provoked complaints.
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10 May 2012Footballer baffled by reaction of Twitter ‘fruits’ to gay comments 60 A footballer in Northern Ireland has received waves of criticism for a series of tweets in which he suggested gays 'anal a girl', adding that he would walk away from gay critics without 'turning his back' on them. -
29 April 2012Northern Ireland: Priest who ‘inadvertently’ projected gay porn to shocked parents to leave diocese 51 The Catholic priest who 'inadvertently' displayed pornographic images of men to a group of parents at a primary school in Northern Ireland is to leave the area.
