They may not have reached the final in the world cup, but Argentina are scoring goals in the equality stakes by becoming the first South American country to legalise marriage for same-sex couples. Evan Wolfson, from US organisation Freedom to Marry made the point of the journey Argentina has taken, both religiously and politically: Today’s historic vote shows how far Catholic Argentina has come, from dictatorship to true democratic values, and how far the freedom to marry movement has come as twelve countries on four continents now embrace marriage equality. Despite a protest organised by evangelical Christians and right wing Catholic groups that drew a whopping 60,000 protestors to a march on Congress the night before the vote, marriage was opened up to same sex couples by... Similar posts

Morning ladies and a Happy Pride! Hope ye are all set for the dyke night tonight. It always amazes me how many lesbians show up for this one night and then disappear off the scene for the rest of the year. It’s like someone lifted a big rainbow-coloured rock and out come the girls. Not that I am complaining, ye are all fabulous! Time to zip around cyber space and see what’s quare out there this week that you might have missed due to partying/poetry writing. We’re breaking records! Literally.. AfterEllen reports Her new project, Elena Undone, follows a well-known lesbian writer who falls for the wife of a pastor. It was conceived by Conn and her partner, Marina Rice Bader, on a weekend getaway when Bader asked, “Why aren’t there more lesbian movies out... Similar posts

It’s not. But if it were, the balance would lie with Israel, the most liberal of states in the Middle East, whether in civil liberties or in fostering a strong economy. While there is no process of civil marriage for any couples in the state of Israel, marriages performed by others are fully recognized, whether... Similar posts

On Friday, Reuters reported that a number of countries in the United Nations have tried to block the IGLHRC’s status as an accredited organisation at the UN. The countries – including Egypt, Sudan, Qatar, Pakistan, China, Russia, Angola and Burundi – are members of a committee in the UN who decide which non-governmental organisations (NGOs) can be accredited to the UN. Other countries on the committee who supported the NGO include the US, the UK, and Romania. Turkey abstained from the vote. (It’s not clear how the remaining committee members voted: Colombia, Cuba, Dominica, Guinea, India, Israel and Peru.) The IGLHRC (International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission) was seeking accreditation to the important Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The vote... Similar posts

MarriagEquality are kicking off a new campaign, entitled We Are Family, in the run up to all of the Irish Pride festivals around the country. We all know that LGBT couples and singles in rural areas have a tougher time of it than those in cities around Ireland, so their are making an effort to educate with a new poster campaign. According to the fine folks in MarriagEquality: The posters depict real couples, some with children, some without, showing that these families exist in Ireland and calling on members of the public to help us secure equal rights for them. We Are Family illustrates that lesbian and gay families are already part of the diverse family fabric of Ireland. Forty years after the death of Harvey Milk and we’re still following his idea that, if every straight... Similar posts

On Wednesday, HAL listed some of the positive changes for women in Ireland, following The Irish Times’ marking of 40 years of struggle with its “Sisters” special. One of the featured articles is by Ann Louise Gilligan and Katherine Zappone and can be read here. from the perspective of lesbian feminists, the article discusses what has and has not changed in Ireland for lesbians, including marriage equality. When I learned of “Sisters” and Zappigan’s article, I was instantly reminded of a LGBT History Tour of Dublin by Tonie Walsh, which I attended recently as part of the the 25th birthday celebrations by The George. Fittingly, then, Friday’s Irish Times letters page included the following critique by one Kay Hughes: Madam, – I was looking forward to reading your supplement... Similar posts

This was a disappointing election for Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats. As David Schneider tweeted, “Was the whole LibDem thing something I dreamed in the shower?”. With 63 MPs at the dissolution of the Commons on 6 May, they returned with only 57.  These included a few high-profile losses, such as Lembit Öpik in... Similar posts

I am beginning to think that they gay collective consciousness in Ireland is the most misogynistic group in Ireland. It’s not a blanket observation per se, it’s just that a complete contempt for womanhood seems to permeate the very fabric of the gay community and it riles me. When Kevin Myers berates the gayness it’s... Similar posts

I will give credit to Brenda Power for agreeing to give an interview to Gay Community News, having invoked anger from many gay people with here opinion piece in The Sunday Times last year, “You can’t trample over the wedding cake and eat it”. However, I find fundamental flaws in some of her arguments against... Similar posts

The ever politically active Gaelick has written a post about anti-gay campaigners writing en masse to the Oireachtas justice commission to obstruct the civil partnerships bill. I hope everyone reading this will take a moment to write to the clerk of the justice committee Mr. Alan Guidon (alan.guidon@oireachtas.ie) and express support, not just for the civil partnership bill, but for full marital rights for gay people. There is massive support for gay rights in Ireland, but if the crazed bigots shout louder they get might just get their way. LGBT noise and other gay rights movements are doing great work in the struggle to achieve equality for LGBT people in this country. It’s up to all of us to help them. (Also, I have a fifty quid bet with my lover that Ireland will see gay marriage... Similar posts

A school district in northern Mississippi has decided to scrap a local high school’s senior prom rather than let 18-year-old Constance McMillen attend the event in a tuxedo with her girlfriend. The Itawamba County school board made the call to cancel prom following a request from the ACLU of Mississippi that an unconstitutional policy banning same-sex prom dates be changed. A statement released by the school board announcing the nixing of prom refers to the ACLU and Constance McMillen as “distractions to the educational process” without mentioning either by name. “That’s really messed up because the message they are sending is that if they have to let gay people go to prom that they are not going to have one,”... Similar posts

The government and main political parties in this country are currently discussing and pushing for the promotion of "civil unions" and eventually - inevitably - "same-sex marriage" for homosexual couples.Catholic Voice are hosting an online petition against this. Here is what they say:Catholic Action MUST STOP Gay Lobby from 'Bullying' the Bill into LawAgainst Same Sex Marriage And Civil Unions - The Six Point Case:Each of these six points against same sex marriage is explained in more detail in our Marriage factsheet which can be obtained via email from info@catholicvoice.ie or send a SAE to Catholic Voice, PO Box 11559, Dublin 1. 1. Natural marriage is the foundation of a civilised society. 2. Same-sex unions, as pseudo-marriages, involve gravely sinful acts that are never defensible,... Similar posts

I can’t help wondering this morning whether my parents unwittingly had me baptised into some kind of pan-global Ku Klux Klan, such is the poison and venom that has been directed at the Holy Father for his comments about the UK’s equality laws. Where to start? One could point out that debates about religious liberty are completely legitimate, and that the bill before the British Parliament constitutes nothing less than an assault on freedom of conscience and worship. One could point out that the Holy Father said absolutely nothing offensive about homosexuality, nor about anybody else,commenting merely on a legislative proposal. One could point out that the Pope’s concerns about the bill are shared by Muslims, Jews, and many, many members of the Church of England. But... Similar posts

Canuckjacq over on LezGetReal highlights the decision by Irish company Tullow Oil to invest over a billion Euro in Ugandan oil interests. The company has made the decision at a time when Uganda is considering a bill which, at worst, could see gay people executed by the State. I’ve never been anything other than an advocate of free trade. And I recognise that businesses have responsibilities of their own, to their shareholders, their employees, and their customers. I’ve never held much regard for the idea that businesses are there to fight for social change, and those that do tend to do so because they’ve found a way to make it profitable. But companies, like nations and individuals, should also be held accountable for their decisions. It’s disappointing that an... Similar posts

This Youtube clip is of my Second Stage speech on the Civil Partnership Bill 2009, which I made in the Dáil on the 20th of January 2010. I would love to hear any thoughts or comments you might... Similar posts

The independent student publication for the University of Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s College in the United States has issued an unreserved apology for the publication of a cartoon which made a joke about violence against gay people. The paper has also begun an internal investigation. In an editorial statement on the papers website the... Similar posts

1. Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery… So should we stone you now or later, Iris Robinson? 2. Yes, her sympathies are with the axe-wielding psychopath…3. Pick a religion Tiger, any religion. “They’re (all) G-r-r-r-eat!” 4. Rabid anti-gay prosthesising by US evangelicals in Africa leads to alarming upturn in homophobia. (To be fair, I don’t think anyone could have predicted that…) 5. Bit late with this one, but there’s still snow on the ground so what harm… Santa Claus will take you to hell! (With thanks to... Similar posts

In 2007 Irish Aid—the international aid branch of the Department of Foreign Affairs—establish bilateral aid programmes with Malawi. This action was a follow-up to the commitment in the White Paper on Irish Aid to establish more partner countries in the African continent. At the moment, the programmes are conducted by means of the funding of Irish NGOs working in Malawi. Slightly out-of-date information on the Malawi programme is available here. Of course, Irish Aid has important agreements with a number of countries in Africa and carries out very valuable work in partnership with NGOs and governmental agencies, but reading this news story this morning brought Malawi to mind. The story concerns a same-sex couple that was arrested following the first public (and, of course, symbolic as... Similar posts

I suggest that people read this article from the New York Times. Awful, isn’t it? Now ask yourself – how many primary sources were there in that article? How many quotes from the evil evangelicals themselves, outlining their teachings in a way that makes it clear that said teachings incite hatred? Take this quote: “Now we really have to go undercover,” said Stosh Mugisha, a gay rights activist who said she was pinned down in a guava orchard and raped by a farmhand who wanted to cure her of her attraction to girls. She said that she was impregnated and infected with H.I.V., but that her grandmother’s reaction was simply, “ ‘You are too stubborn.’ ” Now, did these preachers – evangelical Christians – really go to Uganda and encourage the pinning... Similar posts