MARRIAGEQUALITY Civil marriage for gay and lesbian people

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MARRIAGEQUALITYCivil marriage for gay and
lesbian people
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• Introduction
• What lies ahead?
• Our main challenges

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What is MARRIAGEQUALITY?

• MARRIAGEQUALITY - working for civil marriage for
  gay and lesbian people.
• Started as KAL Advocacy Initiative.
• Launched in February 2008 - Building a broad base
  of support that seeks equal marriage rights for
  gay and lesbian people. (Pre or Post KAL case)

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What do we do

• Communications
• real people, real lives. Visibility LGBT people
  
• Website, Facebook, Bebo
• Polling - December 2008 Its no Joke Report
• Political
• National Grass Roots lobbying e.g. June Elections
• Mobilisation Out to your TD campaign
• Networking LGBT orgs other civil society orgs
  
• Legal
• Marriage Audit
• Legal Articles
• Legal Conference

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Where are we now?

• No recognition at all of same sex relationships
  legal or constitutional protection
• No means formalize relationships with our
  children e.g. adoption, guardianship etc.

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What lies ahead?

• Civil Partnership Bill April 2009
• J.McD v P.L. and B.M. Donor case
• KAL case Appeal date not fixed yet
• Adoption Bill opportunity
• MarriagEqualitys workplan for 2009
• Other organizations LGBT Noise, Platform for
  Equality, Amnesty International (Ireland), ICCL

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What does C.P. Bill propose?

• Civil Partnership Registration scheme for same
  sex couples only fraction of rights
• Co-habitation agreements
• Safety Net Provisions after 3 years or 2 years

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Civil partnership whats missing?

• Its not marriage, separate and not equal
• Same sex families not recognised as families and
  it completely ignores the children in same sex
  families. The right to joint custody of children,
  access, maintenance and adoption rights are
  excluded. Cannot even adopt the child of your
  civil partner
• There is still no draft legislation dealing with
  Taxation of civil partners
• There is still no draft legislation dealing with
  social welfare benefits and entitlements of civil
  partners.

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Civil partnership what else is wrong (1)?

• Ex spouse takes precedence over an ex civil
  partner in inheritance
• No judicial separation easier to dissolve
  less public support to keep them together?
• Pensions Head 26 No provisions for it applying
  retrospectively? What about Public Servant
  pensions?

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Civil partnership what else is wrong (2)?

• Housing not fully explored e.g. doesnt refer to
  Housing Act re grants etc
• Less than civil partnership in the UK and
  Northern Ireland
• Needs a complete trawl through Irish legislation
  as was done in the UK to see what is left out.
• Shared Home instead of Family Home
• No requirement to take account of childrens
  accommodation needs in the Shared Home Protection
  Act as there is in the FHPA

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Is Ireland ready for gay and lesbian marriage?

• Recent surveys carried out by Lansdowne Market
  Research
• 81 - everyone should have equal treatment from
  the State
• 65 - unfair to exclude lesbians and gay men from
  option to marry in a registry office
• 75 - children of gay and lesbian parents should
  have the same rights as other children

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Challenges

• Civil Registration Act, 2004
• A.G. advice
• Constitutional Argument belief that need
  referendum to change Constitution to allow
  marriage for s.s. couples. Fear of referenda
• Civil Partnership 15 years to wait for
  equality?
• Confusion (LGBT, public, politicians, media) CP
  CM
• Iona Institute
• Public unease re Children and same sex parents

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The Future

• Common Challenges work together?

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• www.marriagequality.ie