Thousands of people marched to the Department of Justice in Dublin yesterday, to protest the discrimination against lesbians, bisexual, gay and trans people in Ireland. Organised by LGBT Noise, the protest specifically asked for civil marriage equality.

As someone who is getting married next week, I know that civil partnership is a profound and exciting choice for all of us in the LGBT community, but it’s not full civil marriage.

All of the love, loyalty and happiness is there but, for some reason, the government doesn’t see that. For some reason, the government thinks that my relationship is less than equal. Yesterday, over 4,000 people marched to show just how wrong this is.

It wasn’t just people in the LGBT community who marched, but our family and friends, all of whom can see the that, in the words of LGBT Noise “halfway isn’t home”. Even though we have the right to a civil partnership, we can’t get married.

Well, I’m sorry, government, I’ve been with my partner for 12 years and it’s about time I got to call her my wife.