Gay rights in the Republic of Ireland

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The Republic of Ireland has made significant progress in protecting the human rights of its LGBT citizens. Homosexuality was decriminalised in 1993, and discrimination based on sexual orientation is outlawed. The state also forbids incitement to hatred based on sexual orientation.

Contents 1 Criminal law 2 Discrimination 3 Family law 4 Adoption 5 Political parties 5.1 Public Opinion 6 See also 7 References

[edit] Criminal law

Homosexuality was formally decriminalised in 1993. This was the result of a campaign by Senator David Norris and the Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform which led to a ruling, in 1988, that Irish laws prohibiting homosexual activities were in contravention of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform was founded in the 1970s to fight for the decriminalisation of homosexuality, its founding members including Senator Norris and current President of Ireland Mary McAleese. Prior to 1993 homosexuality was not illegal in the Republic per se but certain laws dating from the nineteenth century rendered homosexual acts illegal. The relevant legislation was the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, and the 1885 Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, both enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom before Irish independence. Nonetheless, the state had a long-standing policy of prosecuting people only in cases where minors were involved or sexual acts were committed in public or without consent.

In 1983 David Norris took a case to the Supreme Court seeking to challenge the constitutionality of these laws but was unsuccessful. In its judgement (delivered by a 3-2 majority) the court referred to the "Christian and democratic nature of the Irish State" and argued that criminalisation served public health and the institution of marriage.

In 1988 Norris took a case to the European Court of Human Rights to argue that Irish law was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. The court, in the case of Norris v. Ireland, ruled that the criminalisation of homosexuality in the Republic violated Article 8 of the Convention, which guarantees the right to privacy in personal affairs. The Irish parliament (Oireachtas) decriminalised homosexuality five years later, when the Minister for Justice, Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, in the 1992–1994 Fianna Fáil—Labour coalition government included decriminalisation in a Bill to deal with various sexual offences. None of the parties represented in the Oireachtas opposed decriminalisation. Coincidentally, the task of signing the Bill decriminalising homosexual acts fell to the then President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, an outspoken defender of gay rights who as a barrister and Senior Counsel had represented Norris in his European Court of Human Rights case.

[edit] Discrimination

Currently discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation is outlawed by the Employment Equality Act, 1998 and the Equal Status Act, 2000. These laws forbid discrimination in any of the following areas: employment, vocational training, advertising, collective agreements, the provision of goods and services and other publicly available opportunities.

The Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act, 1989 outlaws incitement to hatred based on sexual orientation.

[edit] Family law

At present Irish law does not provide for gay marriage or civil partnerships, although civil partnership is currently under consideration.

[edit] Adoption

Irish adoption law currently only allows for applications to adopt children by married couples or single applicants. It is therefore not possible for a gay couple to jointly apply to adopt, but a single gay person or one partner of a couple may apply.

[edit] Political parties

Public opinion is generally in favor of LGBT rights,^{[1] [2]} and thus most of the political parties have followed suit with a liberal or left-wing social policy. The Fine Gael party supports extending to same-sex couples a "civil partnership" or civil unions option [1], as do the Progressive Democrats, Labour Party, Sinn Féin, Socialist, Communist.

Both Sinn Fein and the Green Party support same-sex marriage.

In December 2006 The Labour Party Launched a Civil Union Bill which they hope to bring before the Dail in early 2007

The only Irish political party that has officially come out in opposition to LGBT rights is the small Christian Solidarity Party.

[edit] Public Opinion

A European Union member poll showed Irish support for same sex marriage at 41% [2], while civil partnerships for gays at 51% [3].

[edit] See also

• Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform (Ireland)
• Civil unions in Ireland
• Gay rights in the United Kingdom (including Northern Ireland)
• Same-sex marriage in Ireland

[edit] References

• Employment Equity Act, 1998
• Equal Status Act, 2000.
• Norris v. A.G. - [1983] IESC 3; [1984] IR 36 (22 April 1983) — Supreme Court judgement affirming the law criminalising homosexuality
• Norris v. Ireland - 10581/83 [1988] ECHR 22 (26 October 1988) — European Court of Human Rights judgement overturning the Supreme Court ruling
• Pat Rabbitte takes part in Pride 2006