Support for Irish gay unions grows
As one Irish couple aim to get their Canadian marriage recognised by Irish courts, it appears that two-thirds of the country’s electorate have sympathy for their plight.
Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan are currently awaiting a High Court decision on the status of their marriage in Ireland, and a survey by the Sunday Tribune and Millward Brown will bring great comfort to the couple after it showed increasing support for gay and lesbian couples having the same legal and financial rights as married couples.
The survey revealed that nearly two thirds of voters – 64 per cent – support equality in civil marriage for gays and lesbians.
This is a significant increase on the previous survey conducted by The Irish Examiner survey in February in which 51 per cent indicated support for equal marriage.
Adam Long, from the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN), welcomed the report, “This poll confirms GLEN’s own view that Irish people are fair minded and view lesbian and gay people as equal fellow citizens with equal rights and responsibilities.
“The growing visibility of lesbian and gay people and the recognition of our status in the wider community are linked to the solid support for equality in marriage contained in the poll.”
