Hot on the heels of Minister Shatter’s statement on Thursday, the Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore made the following statement this afternoon:

As the event draws to a conclusion today, I would like to congratulate the organisers of Dublin Pride 2012 for a very successful week.

Dublin Pride dates back to 1983 and has become an important part of the city’s social calendar. It is also becoming an increasingly important attraction, bringing thousands of people to the city, and I would like to warmly welcome these visitors to our capital.

But while the event is primarily a social and cultural one, it also has a political dimension.

As leader of Labour, a Party for whom the politics of personal freedom is so central, I acknowledge that when it comes to promoting understanding and respect, progress has been made in recent years. However, there are some outstanding matters, and if we as a Party are serious about building a new progressive society, these are matters that we will have to resolve.

I believe that in certain key areas, our laws are out of step with public opinion. I don’t believe for example, that it should ever be the role of the State to pass judgement on whom a person falls in love with, or whom they want to spend their life with.

That is why the issue of same-sex marriage is to be included for consideration by the Constitutional Convention. I believe in gay marriage. The right of gay couples to marry is, quite simply, the civil rights issue of this generation, and, in my opinion, its time has come.

Here’s the reaction from Marriage Equality:

HISTORIC MARRIAGE EQUALITY SUPPORT FROM TÁNAISTE EAMON GILMORE TD

1st July 2012 – Dublin: Below follows a statement by Moninne Griffith, Director of Marriage Equality, a national not for profit organisation working for equality for same sex couples, families and their children through access to civil marriage welcoming Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore’s statement of support for marriage equality today.

Today the Tánaiste, the second most senior politician in Ireland, became the first government minister to publically add his voice to the 73% of Irish people who believe that same sex couples, our families and our children deserve equality. With today’s statement, he joins the growing majority of Irish people who believe in truly Irish values of justice, equality, fairness, and respect for difference and diversity.

As the most senior member of Government to declare marriage equality an important issue, the Tánaiste’s full public support marks an historic point in our campaign for equality. But we have a lot of work ahead of us. The Government will soon be launching its Constitutional Convention, to look at, amongst other issues, the provision of same-sex marriage.

We look forward to having the full support of the Tánaiste as we work with the Constitutional Convention to protect same sex couples and families, and to ensure that they are treated equally under the law by enshrining marriage equality in the Irish Constitution.

Keep an eye on Marriage Equality for updates!

More:

• Full text of the Tánaiste’s speech
• Labour.ie
• TheJournal
• The Irish Examiner
• The Indo
• BreakingNews