Mid-Pride season and hot on the heels of the March for Marriage, this just in from Marriage Equality:

Today Marriage Equality welcomes the news that three further district councils in Northern Ireland have passed motions to officially support civil marriage for same sex-couples. Omagh, Down, Moyle and Magherafelt District Councils join Belfast City Council, who passed a motion of support in June.

Marriage Equality Director Moninne Griffith said:

This is a wonderful step by district councils in the North of Ireland to raise awareness of this important issue at a local level. Marriage equality is not just a national issue, it’s a local one. It’s about respecting and protecting loving couples and families who are part of our communities and treating them as equal. That is why putting the issue on the agenda at local level is so important.

In June, Cork City Council unanimously passed its own motion in favour of marriage equality, put forward by Sinn Féin councillor Michael Nugent.

Local authorities will be back in session in September, and councillors from city and county councils around Ireland have been in contact with Marriage Equality about plans to bring their own motions of support forward in the coming months.

Ms Griffith added:

We are delighted at the response we’ve received from councils around the country. Come September we look forward to seeing a dramatic rise in the number of local authorities voicing their support for marriage equality, and sending a powerful message from their communities to the Government that same sex couples, our families and our children deserve equality. With 73% popular support, including TDs, government ministers and local authorities, the time for marriage equality is now.