Tag: Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland’s rainbow community is finally celebrating the legalisation of same-sex marriage, after over a decade of fighting for the same rights as the rest of the United Kingdom. The new law which was passed by the U.K Parliament follows over a decade of attempting to move forward from the Civil Partnership legislation that had

A member of the House of Lords in the UK who previously campaigned against civil unions for same-sex couples said that his daughter is married to another woman. David Trimble is a big deal in conservative politics in Northern Ireland. From 1995 to 2005, he led the Ulster Unionist Party, and now he’s a Conservative member of the House of Lords. In 1998, he and John Hume won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping negotiate the Good Friday Agreement, which helped...

Unlike the rest of the United Kingdom and Ireland, and most of Western Europe, Northern Ireland (the part of Ireland still connected to the UK) does not have marriage equality for its LGBT+ citizens. The reasons for this are long and varied, but essentially Northern Ireland has the responsibility of governing its own laws and legislation on things like human rights, welfare, policing etc.  Much like any US state, it has its own legislative assembly to debate these matters and...

The Belfast rally was led by the same-sex partner of slain journalist and LGBTQ advocate Lyra McKee. Thousands of people marched through Belfast on Saturday to demand the recognition of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland, the only region of the United Kingdom where it does not have legal status. Attempts to legislate for same-sex marriage have been blocked by the Democratic Unionist Party, a key ally of British Prime Minister Theresa May, despite opinion polls in recent years showing most in...

Several major corporations have signed on to a letter urging the UK Parliament in London to introduce legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland. Marriage equality has been the law of the land in England, Scotland and Wales since 2014, and the Republic of Ireland voted for marriage equality via public referendum in 2015. That leaves Northern Ireland as the only part of Western Europe to not allow LGBT couples to marry. The only legal recognition available for same-sex...

Thousands of people are set to take to the streets of Belfast this weekend – to call on UK Prime Minister Theresa May to legislate for equal marriage in Northern Ireland. Polling shows that an overwhelming majority in Northern Ireland support equal marriage, but progress on the issue has been stalled for many years due to political instability and opposition from the hardline Democratic Unionist Party. Campaigners fear that following the collapse of power-sharing in the region, it could be many...

A new report has found that two-thirds of people in Northern Ireland support same-sex marriage. The research, which was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and published by Queen’s University Belfast, was designed to discover what people think about the impact of Brexit on Northern Ireland. As well as asking respondents what their attitudes to Brexit were, the researchers also asked about issues that are “hampering inter-party agreement to resurrect the Northern Ireland Executive”, including same-sex marriage. The study found...

Juice FM has been granted a licence by Northern Ireland, and will be solely dedicated to the LGBTQ community. When it launches, the station is expected to have an audience of 33,000. However, we do have a bit of a wait before Juice FM starts airing, as it could take up to two years before the station puts out its first broadcast. A spokesman for Juice FM told The Belfast Telegraph: “LGBT people come from all walks of life and it...

Is Theresa May 'hiding behind the DUP?' UK Prime Minister Theresa May has refused to pass same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland. The Conservative leader was accused of ‘hiding behind the DUP’ by refusing to legalize marriage equality. Public support is overwhelmingly in support of same-sex marriage. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK or Ireland that does not allow gay couples to marry. May insisted it was a ‘devolved matter’. However, Stormont has collapsed. There has been a 15-month failure to restore...

The stakes are high. The peculiarities of Northern Ireland politics have provided us with a unique and historic opportunity. With enough support, the right to marry the person you love, to be a full and a equal citizen of the UK, could finally come to the people of Northern Ireland. With direct rule in operation, the promise of a free vote in the UK Parliament from the Northern Ireland secretary, and a private member’s bill to be introduced at the end...

Lucidtalk's new poll has revealed just how many people are in favour of marriage equality. A new poll released by Lucidtalk, a Northern Ireland polling and market research company, has revealed that most of Northern Ireland are in favour of same-sex marriage. According to the poll, around 61% of the people asked would vote to legalise same-sex marriage if a referendum was held. The results show that a further 32.5% of the people wouldn’t vote to legalise same-sex marriage while 6.5% have...

UK Prime Minister Theresa May calls for marriage equality in Northern Ireland UK Prime Minister Theresa May has defied her allies in the DUP by saying she supports marriage equality in Northern Ireland. Conservative leader May had to do a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party after failing to win an outright majority in June’s UK election. But the DUP opposes abortion and LGBTI equality and has blocked attempts to allow same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland. May tackled the issue while hosting...

For Northern Irish student Ciara Cinnamond, it was an excruciating dilemma. At the same time the 23-year-old was graduating from Queen’s University Belfast this weekend, thousands were marching through the streets to call for same-sex marriage to be legalised. So Ciara, who had her girlfriend in the audience, found a way to do both. As she crossed the stage at the prestigious, gilded Whitla Hall to shake the acting vice-chancellor’s hand, Ciara unfurled a rainbow pride flag about as big as her. The...

Paula Devine, 52, says that her 25-year-old son has repeatedly been the target of homophobic attackers in Belfast, Northern Ireland, for the past three years. “It started with slurs about six months after he moved in, the name calling, it’s all homophobic abuse, once they found out he was gay that was it,” she told Belfast Live. The abuse escalated until one night, when the victim was leaving his mother’s house to go home, the attackers threw stones at him and...