Today is IDAHOT (the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia), and the No Hate Speech Movement of the Council of Europe is asking you to stand up to hate speech online.

Make it stop

National Campaign Committees have been set up in 37 Member States of the Council of Europe and 59 young people have been trained to further spread the anti-hate speech message across European countries and worldwide.

Ian McGahon, is one of the volunteers of the No Hate Speech Movement and is asking you:

Be creative! Do a video or a photo and upload it on the #nohatespeech movement to share your message: why are you against homophobia, biphobia, transphobia etc.; why do you stand for equal rights, what is your experience of hate speech. Share your video or photo message here.

Report hate speech online in our Hate Speech Watch. Many deny that hate speech exist, so we need to raise awareness and expose its dimension.

Don’t let it pass by! Respond to hate speech. You can find here some examples.

Convince politicians and decision makers to take the pledge against hate speech which targets people’s gender identity and sexual orientation!

Don’t put up with it, shut the haters up.

Related posts:

1. Online Survey on Hate Speech
2. Ireland to adopt EU law on victims of crime including hate crimes
3. Stand Up! From March 11th – 15th

Charley lays it on

Unsurprisingly, the internet has provided a medium for yet another offensive and extremist anti-gay group, this time in the form of Faith 2 Action. The group, which discourages people from engaging in homosexual behaviour, has recently released a video in which they present ‘scientific’ evidence to suggest that being gay is three times more dangerous to your health than being a smoker. Naturally, I was intrigued to hear this argument…

Faith 2 Action has two brain cells

The group has taken it upon themselves to parody the famous book, Heather has Two Mommies, which was released in the late 1980s as part of a campaign to support homosexuality and adoption. The parody, which is a focal point in their production, is entitled, Heather has Two Cigarettes, and is used as a tool to encourage children into becoming smokers; although I feel fairly confident instating that the original text was NOT being used as a method to encourage children into being homosexual, or engaging in homosexual behaviour, which is what seems to be implied by this video.

One girl in the classroom remarks that she is a non-smoker and that her mother told her smoking was bad; this outburst is met with the threat that she will be sent to the principle’s office for not complying with smoking behaviour. I’m not sure how things worked where everyone else went to school but I was never a) asked to smoke in a classroom, or asked to engage in a homosexual act, which is after all what this video is likening smoking to or b) threatened to be sent to my head teacher for refusing to engage in either of the above acts.

Puh-lease!

Straights don’t get STIs!

To make the video seem like it has at least a small amount of validity, they’ve shipped in Gary Glenn to quote some statistics from The Journal of Epidemiology. From this chunk of the video we discover that smoking can reduce someone’s life by 7 years; however homosexual behaviour can reduce someone’s life from anywhere between 8 and 20 years – shocking, isn’t it?

The only problem is, it isn’t homosexual behaviour that decreases life, it’s the transmission of HIV/AIDS. Glenn cleverly quotes statistics relating to how many STIs are caught by homosexuals and how damaging they can be to the health of the average person, as if these diseases can’t be caught and indeed spread through heterosexual sex too. One meant-to-be-persuasive moment of the video even shows a snapshot of the headline ‘Modelling the impact of HIV disease on mortality in gay and bisexual men’ – surely this makes HIV the route cause of the damage, rather than actually being gay? And as far as I’m aware, HIV is not limited to the homosexual community.

Straight? Then relax, lady, you can't get STIs

The video continues along the path of homosexual hate with their righteous claims as they proceed to explain that it is their Christian duty to discourage people from engaging in self-destructive behaviour, which is apparently what the group considers homosexuality to be.

I’m very aware that statistics have suggested in the past that HIV/AIDS is more common amongst gay men; what the up-to-date findings are on this matter I do not know, thus, I don’t feel entitled to comment on them. However, what I do feel entitled to comment on is this ridiculous campaign; actively engaging in a behaviour that science has proven does severe damage to your body (yes, I am discussing smoking here) is in no way comparable to homosexuality and, shame on those who have taken part in the campaign, it is a heinous and ludicrous comparison to inflict upon children.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFwBWNpqY3o

Related posts:

1. Russian gay milk turns sour
2. Ex-gay comes out
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Marc Solomon, national campaign director of Freedom to Marry, released the following statement:

“Today’s historic vote makes Delaware the eleventh state across the U.S. where loving and committed couples can share in the joy and protections that marriage brings. As happy couples and their loved ones celebrate and prepare for the first weddings in Delaware – following the win in Rhode Island just a few days ago – this milestone sends yet another message to the Supreme Court that it’s time for marriage for all Americans. Freedom to Marry is proud of its work with Equality Delaware to secure this victory, and we look forward to surging forward and continuing the momentum in Illinois and Minnesota later this month.”

Freedom to Marry served as a lead partner on the Delaware campaign and helped pave the way for a victory by providing strategic guidance and counsel on all aspects of the legislative campaign, in addition to managing the campaign’s digital strategy. While leading Delaware’s online campaign, Freedom to Marry helped identify over 6,000 new online supporters and generated more than 5,500 emails to legislators. In addition, Freedom to Marry was the lead investor in the campaign, contributing nearly $200,000 to the effort.

###

Freedom to Marry is the campaign to win marriage nationwide. We are pursuing our Roadmap to Victory by working to win the freedom to marry in more states, grow the national majority for marriage, and end federal marriage discrimination. We partner with individuals and organizations across the country to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage and the protections, responsibilities, and commitment that marriage brings.

Related posts:

1. The Maine Thing is Equality
2. Same Sex Marriage Approved by Illinois State
3. UK Marriage Bill to be Published Today

Northern Ireland is a unique UK territory in that it does not recognise same sex partnerships under the law in any way.  The Stormont Assembly saw emotional debates on the subject, as well as impassioned protests from both sides outside, before the unionists voted the motion down.

Northern Ireland is an area that has had to deal with discrimination of various sections of its society for generations and so it is a shame to see this motion fail.  I, for one, had hoped the assembly would want to push the country past this kind of segregation of rights but sadly that is not the case.  Religious leaders asked assembly members to vote the motion down and so far it looks like they have prevailed.

In term of the future of the motion, Amnesty International has said they may well challenge the collapse of the move.  Their NI programme director, Patrick Corrigan said

states may not discriminate with regards to the right to marry and found a family, on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity

John O’Doherty, director of the Rainbow Project health organisation added

This will be won slowly so we appreciate every vote that we got. We are disappointed with the outcome. It has always been a difficult march towards equality here but we will continue to fight the good fight.

Related posts:

1. North’s Alliance Party supports marriage equality
2. Same-sex marriage proposal rejected in Northern Ireland
3. Kerry County Council supports same-sex marriage

Charley talks conversion

If there’s one thing that I never tire of seeing articles about, it’s the idea that being homosexual is something that an individual can be ‘cured’ of; in fact, one of my first articles for this very website was a shocking piece delving into ‘treatment’ practices in other countries.

Something rather interesting that has popped up on the internet recently, relating to this very topic, is a statement made by American citizen, John Paulk, who, after being a poster boy for ‘conversion therapy’, has finally admitted that the treatment that he told the world had worked, actually hadn’t made a difference at all to his sexuality.

Paulk became the face of the campaign, which was launched back in the 1990s, branding himself as an ‘ex-gay’, as if there is such a thing.

Ex ex-gay, John Paulk

After turning back to being straight, Paulk then married his now ex-wife Ann, who had also undergone this conversion therapy. With both members of the marriage successfully ‘cured’ of their homosexuality, they proceeded to advertise and support the campaign and even wrote books about their experience, entitled Love Won Out and Not Afraid to Change: The Remarkable Story of How One Man Overcame Homosexuality.

Coming out again

Paulk, who is now 50, has decided that living a lie is no longer for him and has completely cut ties with both the campaign and his wife, who is still entirely devoted to the movement. Alongside bravely coming out the closet, for a second time, Paulk is also discouraging people from buying the aforementioned books as he no longer wishes to be affiliated with the ‘ex-gay’ movement that seems to be sweeping through so many countries.

It has always been a strong belief of mine that in using therapy to try and manipulate someone’s sexuality, you are simply asking for trouble. It’s a dangerous and damaging process and personally, I can’t help but feel that trying to stop someone from being gay is likely to do much more damage to them mentally, than ‘allowing’ them to be gay ever will. My thoughts, that I will stand by in all future articles relating to this topic, are also reinforced by Paulk himself who has remarked how damaging the therapy was, claiming that, “It does great harm to many people.”

On behalf of Gaelick, and everyone else who has found themselves subject to such heinous procedures and suggestions, I would like to congratulate John Paulk on this outstanding act of bravery… coming out was bad enough the first time, let alone having to do it twice!

Related posts:

1. Stand up to hate speech
2. Russian gay milk turns sour
3. Baby I was born this way

The ruling Labour government in Malta are looking into the prospect of introducing civil partnerships for same sex couples. Their leader made this promise in January before the election, he also said at that time that his government would introduce identity legislation for trans people.

Interestingly, they have decided to get the views of LGBT people in this process of producing change – how novel of them.  The government will go about this by use of a consultative council set up by Social Dialogue Minister Helena Dalli.

Joseph Muscat

Court

All of this came about after the government dropped its case against a 31 year old who went to the European courts after she was refused the right to marry.  It was the first reading of a bill that would allow trans citizens the right to undergo gender reassignment in order to marry a person of the same gender, that has lead to this council being formed.  So who exactly makes up the council?  Well, participants are LGBT activists and the heads of various voluntary organisations, they will be chaired by Cyrus Engerer.

Labour leader, Joseph Muscat, also said he will appoint a minister for civil rights and equality in the country which would imply that these are not just steps being made to make the country seem like it is moving in the right direction but that rather his government are committed to ensuring the rights of all citizens are upheld into the future.

He said:

We have waited too long to move ahead and give these persons their rights. We truly want Malta for all and want everyone to feel that Malta is theirs

By saying that this isn’t about tolerance but rather embracing us all as equal human beings, Muscathas has hit the nail on the head.  Malta should be for all of it’s citizens a safe and dignified home and the same goes for every other country including our own.

Related posts:

1. Trans* equality activists protest Minister’s speech
2. Cork City Council votes unanimously in favour of marriage equality
3. Kerry County Council to vote on same-sex marriage

Agnes Von Kenn has the latest from France
Today is an important date for the LGBT community of France. Today is the day that the French parliament is to make their decision on same-sex marriage and adoption.
While the majority of the French public support equal rights for gay couples, there is a staunch movement against the government vote, resulting in protests, rallies and shocking homophobic attacks.

Demonstrations

Numerous demonstrations have taken place in the past few days, including an incident where riot police had to fight back surging crowds at the Champs-Elysees who were protesting the vote and hundreds of people were recently arrested in protests that took place outside the French Parliament.

But it doesn’t just stop with political demonstrations. Personal and more violent strikes have been made against the LGBT community as well. Two gay bars have been attacked in the past few days (reportedly by neo-Nazis) and a couple were attacked as they were leaving a nightclub in Nice last weekend.

Image from csmonitor.com

One man who felt the brunt of the protestors’ anger is 24-year-old Raphaël Leclerc who was punched, kicked and knocked unconscious by three other men after leaving a nightclub with his boyfriend at around 5:30am last Saturday night. Dutch citizen Wilfred de Bruijn was also the victim of homophobic assault last month in Paris. While out with his partner, de Bruijn was targeted and beaten. He then uploaded a photograph of his badly battered face to his Facebook page, calling it the “face of homophobia.” The picture has been shared countless times.

To their credit, Manif pour Tous (the main group that is against the vote) oppose these brutal and hostile actions against the LGBT community. Hopefully, they will subside after today and peace will return to the nation (which will be the fourteenth country in the world to legalise gay marriage).

Related posts:

1. Part of Same Sex Marriage Bill Approved in France
2. Vive La France
3. France all but passes Marriage Equality

Today, New Zealand’s Parliament passed marriage equality legislation by an overwhelming majority of 77 for and 44 against, becoming the 13^th country to achieve marriage equality. Louisa Wall MP’s private member bill, to amend the NZ Marriage Act and allow same-sex couples to marry, passed its third reading in front of a packed house. A screening room had to be set up in another area of Parliament and people began queuing outside hours before the debate even began and all around the country people gathered around to watch the historical vote take place. Last week Uruguay became the 12^th country to achieve marriage equality and the second country in Latin America, the first being Argentina, to recognize the marriage rights of same-sex couples.

Image from tntmagazine.com

Come on Ireland!

Marriage Equality renewed its calls for Ireland to be a leader in the movement for equality in light of recent progress on the issue both at home and abroad. Following a weekend of presentations and discussions the constitutional convention in Dublin at the weekend voted by 79% in favour to recommend that the Government provide for equal recognition of civil marriage for same-sex couples.

The weekend’s deliberations followed an unprecedented 1,000 plus submissions to the Convention, more than three quarters of which favoured marriage equality. The Convention will now submit a recommendation to Government to provide for equal recognition of marriage for same-sex couples. The Government will publish its decision on what it proposes to do with the recommendation within 4 months, including a decision on whether or not to hold a referendum on the issue and a timeframe.

Marriage Equality Director Moninne Griffith says

Now really is the time for marriage equality, we want Ireland to lead this movement for equality and not fall behind. As the push for equality for same sex couples and families gains momentum in countries like the United States, France and the UK, we call on our own political leaders to make it a reality here too. Irish people want this as was shown by the overwhelming vote at the convention at the weekend. Ireland is ready, with a strong majority of Irish people who think same sex couples should have the right to marry the person they love.

We call on the Government to implement this positive recommendation as soon as possible to provide for ‘same-sex marriage’ in the constitution by putting this issue to the people of Ireland in a referendum. A referendum on the issue here in Ireland is our opportunity for us as a citizens of this country to take the next step as a modern  democracy that has respect for diversity and that believes in equality,” added Ms Griffith.  “This is our chance to be leaders when it comes to equality for all, and to enshrine essential Irish values of justice, equality, fairness, and respect for all citizens in the Constitution.

Watch the announcement from NZ  here

Related posts:

1. Constitutional Convention “historic” endorsement of equal marriage
2. Youth of Ireland Call for Marriage Equality
3. Taoiseach holding back on Marriage Equality Stance

Niamh was encouraged by the support for LGBT teachers

You may have read about or heard about or seen those rowdy teachers heckling poor old minister Ruairi Quinn over the Easter holidays. Sure every one knows all the cool teachers boarded Ryanair flights with their trusty little hand luggage bag (no room for an biro dearg!) and skipped town! By the way I totally did that Bradley Cooper reenactment as I ran to my car. Anyway when they weren’t giving out or holding up ironic placards the teachers were actually discussing LGBT rights and making great strides to tackle the ongoing problem of homophobia in Irish schools.

And safe LGBTs= the future

The TUI (Teachers Union of Ireland), which is the smallest of the teachers’ unions and predominantly represents secondary school teachers, discussed the issue of LGBT teachers who have to endure bullying from their students. A motion proposed during the conference urged the education department to better protect teachers from such vitriol. Patrick Hogan of the Limerick City Branch spoke not only about the fear that LGBT teachers face of losing their job but also the additional abuse that they experience from certain students.

Homophobia

Mr. Hogan made specific reference to a case where a teacher was enduring daily homophobic abuse from students. The management in this case were aware of the abuse but failed to put an end to the bullying. It is clear from Mr. Hogan’s comments to the Irish Independent that this is not an isolated incident.

How is this a positive story you ask? Well the very fact that it is being discussed at conference level is significant in itself. The motion encouraging protection for these teachers was passed by the TUI members and now, the Department of Education and management of schools cannot ignore the sentiment of the majority of teachers.

Help them to help kids

The congress of the INTO (Irish National Teachers’ Organisation) also addressed the issues faced by LGBT teachers. Ruairi Quinn once again reiterated his commitment to change Section 37(1) of the so called Equality Act (an act allows religious institutions to discriminate against employees who undermine the ethos of the institution they word for).

After too long, we are making progress. All political parties, united in the need to stamp out discrimination against our teachers. Working together to remove the climate of fear. A climate that prevents teachers from living their lives openly

Anne Fay the outgoing president of the INTO also made a clear call for the end of discrimination towards LGBT teachers. She also emphasized the importance of teachers in combating homophobia in schools

Teachers must be unafraid to challenge homophobic bullying and attitudes in schools which impact on every child and young person. If children hear language or ideas which are negative about gay and lesbian people and this is not challenged by teachers, they learn that homophobia is tolerated. Section 37(1) reinforces this, is wrong and must be changed. I welcome the moves that have been made this year to begin that process.

Throughout her presidency Anne Fay has been a outspoken supporter of the INTO LGBT teachers’ group. She showed tremendous solidarity with the group when she marched with them during Dublin Pride last year.

Change

Even though cutbacks and Croke Park 2 dominated the conferences, it’s refreshing to know that LGBT rights were not been put on the back burner as a result. LGBT teachers will never come out in schools without the support of their colleagues and it is clear that the vast majority of teachers believe that the current climate of fear must be changed. It is now time for that sentiment to be expressed by management for real change to occur.

Now excuse me while I go unpack my little hand luggage bag, must start booking my summer holidays now. Don’t you just hate us teachers?!

Related posts:

1. Stand Up! From March 11th – 15th
2. Protection for teachers
3. Actions speak louder than statements

Marriage Equality, Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN), Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL)

In a joint statement this afternoon (14 April 2013), advocacy groups Marriage Equality, the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) have welcomed the strong endorsement today by the Constitutional Convention of equal marriage as “an historic step”.

Following a weekend of presentations and discussions involving supporters and opponents of equal marriage, the constitutional reform body voted today by 79% in favour to recommend that the Government take steps to provide for equal recognition of marriage for same-sex couples.

The weekend’s deliberations followed an unprecedented 1,000 plus submissions to the Convention, more than three quarters of which favoured marriage equality. The Convention, as per its Terms of Reference, will now submit a recommendation to Government to provide for equal recognition of marriage for same-sex couples. The Government will publish its decision on what it proposes to do with the recommendation within 4 months, including a decision on whether or not to hold a referendum on the issue.

Welcoming the outcome of the Convention’s deliberations today, Marriage Equality Director, Moninne Griffith said:

“we are delighted with today’s result at the Constitutional Convention on the issue of same-sex marriage. This proves that Ireland is ready for equality for same sex couples and wants equal access to civil marriage for loving committed lesbian and gay couples. Recent polling reflects the vote today. Now is the time. We call on the Government to implement this positive recommendation as soon as possible to provide for ‘same-sex marriage’ in the constitution by putting this issue to the people of Ireland in a referendum.”

GLEN Director, Brian Sheehan said:

“This is a historic day. It is a major milestone on the remarkable journey to full constitutional protection for lesbian and gay people and families in Ireland. It builds on the extraordinary progress we have achieved over the last 20 years, and clearly demonstrates that Ireland is ready to take the next step to complete that remarkable journey.”

There have been two days of moving and emotional debate. We are delighted with the result, as will the hundreds of thousands of lesbians and gay people throughout Ireland. We would like to thank the members of the Convention, both ordinary citizens and political members, for the thoughtfulness, care and respect with which they dealt with the issue over the last two days. Their discussions were a powerful demonstration of the commitment to equality and further progress for lesbian and gay people in Ireland. This makes us even more proud citizens of Ireland.”

ICCL Director Mr Mark Kelly said:

“This is landmark moment in the human rights history of Ireland. The Convention has voted by a decisive majority in favour of changing the Constitution to allow for civil marriage for same sex couples. The vote sends a clear message to Government that the time is right to ask the Irish people to remove one of the last bastions of official discrimination in Ireland. Successive polls have indicated that such a move is favoured by a majority in this state. Public engagement with the Constitutional Convention, and today’s vote, bear this out. The ICCL looks forward to further engagement with the public on the subject of equal marriage in the coming months”.

•    The Convention on the Constitution met on the weekend of Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 April with a view to reporting recommendations to the Houses of the Oireachtas on the constitutional provision for marriage for same-sex couples. For more information on the Convention on the Constitution see www.constitution.ie. The sessions took place in the Grand Hotel, Malahide.

•    Presentations and panel sessions by legal and academic experts, and by advocacy organisations, took place on Saturday 13 April, with closed deliberations and voting by Convention members taking place on Sunday 14 April.

•    The ICCL, GLEN and Marriage Equality jointly made the case for opening up civil marriage in Ireland to same-sex couples. The Convention also heard contributions from a number of religious organisations opposed to extending civil marriage to same-sex couples, including the Knights of Columbanus, the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the Evangelical Alliance.

•    The ICCL’s, GLEN’s and Marriage Equality’s submissions to the Constitutional Convention are available on the Hear Our Voices website athttp://www.hearourvoices.ie/submissions. Hear Our Voices is an initiative of The Irish Council for Civil Liberties, working to ensure that the voices of civil society organisations will be heard in an effective way during the constitutional convention process.

•    About Marriage Equality

Marriage Equality is a national not for profit organisation working for equality for same sex couples, families and their children through access to civil marriage. Marriage Equality was launched in February 2008. It grew from the KAL Advocacy Initiative: a group set up to support the case to recognise the Canadian marriage of two Irish citizens – Drs Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan.

With over 3,000 supporters throughout Ireland, the organisation has had significant impact on public and political opinion in relation to the issue, through a combination of media and communications, research and policy, advocacy and lobbying work. Public support for marriage equality has grown from 56% in 2008 to 75% in 2012.

For more information please visit www.marriagequality.ie

•    About the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network

The Gay and Lesbian Equality Network is a non-governmental organisation that campaigns for equality for lesbian, gay and bisexual people in marriage, at home, at school, at work and in the wider community. www.glen.ie

•    About the Irish Council for Civil Liberties

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) is Ireland’s independent human rights watchdog, which monitors, educates and campaigns in order to secure full enjoyment of human rights for everyone. Founded in 1976 by Mary Robinson and others, the ICCL has been campaigning for over three decades for full equality for same-sex couples. www.iccl.ie

Related posts:

1. 1000s of lesbian and gay people await outcome of Constitutional Convention
2. “A Constitution for all women”: The Constitutional Convention & Marriage
3. BREAKING: Tánaiste makes historic statement on marriage equality

Gender is not a social construct
The article in question was published on the Irish Times website a couple of weeks ago, inoffensively titled Gender is not a social construct.

The main focus of William Reville’s article is Sweden’s experiments in reducing the amount of gendering children grow up with. In the last few years they have made it a requirement for toy catalogues to show boys as well as girls playing with all toys and introduced a gender-neutral pronoun ‘hen’.

Children are not called boys and girls, but friends
In Stockholm, a state-sponsored preschool Egalia tries to obliterate the male/female distinction among children. The children are not called boys and girls, but friends, and stories like two male giraffes parenting abandoned crocodile eggs have replaced classic fairy tales such as Cinderella.

Now maybe I’m nitpicking here, but referring to someone as a ‘friend’ is hardly ‘obliterating’ gender. I don’t know a huge amount about the preschool in question but I’m sure children are not made to sit on the naughty step for declaring themselves a boy or a girl. Teaching that ones peers should be thought of as, first and foremost, friends seems like an eminently sensible way to commence formal education. I would suggest Reville reread the words ‘two male giraffes’ a couple of times. Gendered giraffes!That does not seem like the reading material of an institution hell bent on eradicating gender.

Unless, of course, Mr Reville feels that the portrayal of homosexuality in children’s books will warp their understanding of gender forever more. In which case William and I need to have a whole other conversation.

A society where gender isn’t the the main defining characteristic
My understanding of the various Swedish policies is not that they wish to trample gender into the history books but rather create a society where gender isn’t the the main defining characteristic of young children. Let them see that it’s ok to play with dolls or tractors, that they can play sport or paint according to their taste. Like Mr Reville, I imagine that the majority of boys will favour tractors and the majority of young girls favour dolls but the point is that for those who have less common preferences will not be perceived as weird, abnormal or troubled.

 
My view is that this approach will create an environment where children can have interests, biology and gender identities which are genuinely their own. There will be norms and there will be diversity, the underlying, natural patterns of gender and human socialisation – whatever they are – will likely assert themselves.

Such pursuit of gender neutrality would eliminate variety
Reville’s view is that “[t]his view suggests we should treat gender-based behaviour in children as a disease in need of a cure. Such pursuit of gender neutrality would eliminate variety, generally seen as a valuable asset in the biological world and a vital basic element contributing to normal human interrelations.”

I cannot imagine that Sweden’s approach will ‘eliminate difference’ as Reville fears. But in case we’re not understanding the great danger posed by children calling each other ‘friends’ Reville’s readers are reminded of a horrific case from the 1960s where medical professionals woefully misjudged a situation and reassigned the gender of a young boy after his penis was accidentally severed. That is a cautionary tale against surgically reassigning gender in young children, an idea with widespread support among intersex groups, and not against give children the freedom to explore their gender and how it relates to the world around them. If there is a reasonable link between the two, I fail to see it.

 
Though that could be because I’m rolling my eyes so hard I can see my forehead.

Related posts:

1. Toying with Gender Stereotypes
2. The Amazing Time Traveling Gender Recognition Legislation
3. Youth of Ireland Call for Marriage Equality

Image from kalashkinoff.net

LGBT Noise have created a new event to promote marriage equality ahead of the Constitutional Convention, which will look at and vote on the issue this weekend, April 13th and 14th and decide whether constitutional reform is required. It will be a huge step forward in the fight for equality here in Ireland.

At 12 noon, this Sunday, April 14th, LGBT Noise, various same sex couples and LGBT allies will meet on South King Street, outside the Gaeity theater and stage a kiss-in, where couples will lock lips to further promote the support for marriage equality, LGBT visibility and the hope we all share for a brighter future where not just some are more equal than others but one where we all have the same rights.

Cheeky!

The event will be a fun, all inclusive way to show your support for marriage equality so grab your partners,family and friends to plant one on each other (lips, cheeks or wherever you prefer) and say yes to love in 2013. Even those straight folk we hear so much about are invited to support their fabulous gay and lesbian acquaintances. Don’t worry, if you have no one to kiss there’ll surely be other single pringles about looking for a partner or you could hold some coats.

You can join the ‘LGBT Noise Kiss For Marriage’ event on their Facebook here and like the page for further updates on events.

Thumbnail Image: Agata Nowicka

Related posts:

1. Labour Marriage Equality Bill Published
2. Youth of Ireland Call for Marriage Equality
3. March for Marriage 2012

This weekend, 13th and 14th April, the Constitutional Convention will discuss access to civil marriage and constitutional protection for lesbian and gay couples.

“The Constitutional Convention discussion is critically important for lesbian and gay people in Ireland. The delegates have the opportunity to advance the remarkable journey towards equality for lesbian and gay people in Ireland”

“Many thousands of lesbian and gay people are awaiting the outcome of the Convention’s discussions. The outcome will determine the pace at which Ireland moves to take the next step towards constitutional equality for lesbian and gay families”

said Tiernan Brady of GLEN.

The Convention has been asked by the Government to discuss and vote on whether lesbian and gay couples should have access to civil marriage. The Government has undertaken to respond with four months of receiving the Convention report, indicating if they accept the outcome, and if so, outline a timetable to implement the outcome.

GLEN, along with Marriage Equality and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties will put the case for constitutional equality for lesbian and gay couples and families to the delegates on Saturday.

The issue of equal access to civil marriage for lesbian and gay couples has been the subject of considerable debate, analysis and consultation in Ireland over the last 10 years during which time support for equal marriage has grown consistently across Irish society and across every political party in the Oireachtas.

“There was a huge response to the Convention’s request for submissions on this issue, with over 1,000 individuals and groups submitting. Three quarters of the submissions are in favour of taking the next step towards equality and allowing lesbian and gay couples access to civil marriage. This is a reflection of the extensive public support on the issue.”

GLEN’s submission, The Remarkable Journey towards Equality and Civil Marriage for Lesbian and Gay People in Ireland sets out our the case for Constitutional recognition and protection for lesbian and gay families, building on the powerful civil partnership legislation, and the enthusiastic general welcome by Irish people for the civil partnerships that have already taken place”

said Brady.

As the GLEN submission states

“in a democratic republic based on equal citizenship, civil marriage should be open to all citizens, including lesbians and gay men. The fact that our constitution and its provisions relating to marriage have been interpreted by the courts to exclude lesbian and gay couples is deeply regrettable. While this constitutional barrier is in force, lesbian and gay men will not have full equality under our constitution.” 

“GLEN are delighted to be participating in the Convention and look forward to discussing the issue with delegates”

1. GLEN’s submission to the Constitutional Convention, The Remarkable Journey towards Equality and Civil Marriage for Lesbian and Gay People in Ireland, is available here.

2. The proceedings of the Constitutional Convention will be broadcast live across the web at www.constitution.ie

3. All submissions to the Constitutional Convention are available at the Convention website www.constitution.ie

Related posts:

1. Constitutional Convention “historic” endorsement of equal marriage
2. “A Constitution for all women”: The Constitutional Convention & Marriage
3. Lucky 13 for New Zealand

Uruguay passed equal marriage rights legislation only a few weeks ago and New Zealand and the UK are also making significant moves in the right direction.  Our own Constitutional Convention will sit to discuss the issue on April 13th and 14th, so get to your TDs and tell them you want Ireland to join the list of countries deciding that the time is right to give all citizens equal marriage rights under the law.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyWuSl7Bi1w

Related posts:

1. Part of Same Sex Marriage Bill Approved in France
2. Taoiseach holding back on Marriage Equality Stance
3. House of Commons passes gay marriage bill

Did you feel the earth move a little? Look closely, do your colleagues of the opposite gender seem further away than usual? That would be the labour market’s version of Shibboleth expanding as you work. Though it’s hard to believe, the gender pay gap is widening for the first time since records began. I hope you didn’t build anything too close to it.

Depression

Of course, we know that the people who have suffered the most during this recession are the people who had the least to begin with, so it (depressingly) stands to reason that hard won ground towards equality is lost to ‘short-term’ situations and policies that will doubtless shape the employment landscape for the next couple of decades.

Image from womensglib.wordpress.com

Depending on the figures you work with, the gender pay gap has widened to its former girth of about 2005 or 2006. That’s quite a backslide.

Of course ‘women’ and ‘men’ are pretty broad categories, and the pay gap effects different groups differently. The less  educated you are the smaller the gap between average earnings between women and men. If you’re a highly  educated woman, however, while you’re most likely earning more than those with less education than you, you’re probably earning  significantly less than your male peers with similar levels of education (more here). This seems to be true, even if you studied the same subject so the old argument that women who did general arts with of course make less money than men who did computer engineering is so much hot air.

Double dip

Women of colour on average earn less than the average income for women (so many averages!), being at two social disadvantages – gender and ethinicity. This article here reports that black women make 64 cents to the (white male) dollar, Hispanic women make an appalling 55c to the dollar. That’s basically the pay rate white women suffered over fifty years ago. Interestingly, although a minority sexuality usually another disadvantage, numerous studies have found that gay women earn significantly more than straight women. Some studies placing the earnings of gay women as second only to married straight men.

Do you like statistics about this kind of thing? So does the European commission. You’re welcome.

Depressed? The doctor recommends this cheering pay gap related film and lots of tea. It’s a total fairytale (equal pay? ha!), but a good evening in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ509hHkHO8

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3. The F-word

Chris was brave, principled and passionate; to be an open gay activist in the 1980s was not easy. We had few friends and supporters in those days, and many powerful enemies; but Chris put himself on the line because he believed that discrimination and oppression was inhuman and that each person had a responsibility to take action where they could.

Mr Robson was committed to working for to equality on a range of social issues from the 1980s onwards and was one of the earliest activists for gay rights in Ireland. As part of his tireless work he was involved in the formation of Gay Health Action, Dublin Lesbian & Gay Men’s Collective, Campaign for Equality and GLEN. He served on the board of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, the Ana Liffey Drug Treatment Project and Marriage Equality. Internationally, through the organisation EUROCASO, Chris influenced the development of the European response to the AIDS crisis.

Ireland has lost one of its great civil rights activists and the LGBT community has lost one of its pioneering campaigners. All of us in GLEN will greatly miss his warmth, his humour and his passionate and inspiring commitment to social justice.

Kieran Rose (GLEN)

 

Our thoughts are with Mr Robson’s partner, family and friends.

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Lou keeps her shirt on

Page 3 girls have long been a staple element of many men’s ( and I suspect women’s) breakfast. Sarah, 21, is studying neuroscience and wearing what appears to be nothing but a surgeon’s cap, staring suggestively from the third page of ‘established’ tabloid The Sun. But is this soon to change?

Campaigner Lucy Ann Holmes believes it should. Holmes believes that this images present pressure for young women today to appear perfect, while I think the issue actually is ‘’how is she stunning…. and a neuroscientist?’’.

All joking aside Holmes concern does hold some validity. Holmes feels that young girls feel themselves being compared to the near perfect topless (and otherwise) models who frequent page three. While one has to admire her courage in taking on the mighty News Corp, her cause seems to be ignored as she has been told ‘’If you don’t like it, don’t buy it’’.

Lucy Ann Holmes

Choice

While I understand this stance by a global corporation must be frustrating, I have to kind of agree with this. The girls who choose to partake in page three shoots are very clearly willing to be paid to show off their apparently highly intelligent body parts. The argument that it may or may not contribute to pressure in the cases of young girls falls unheard in a society where everyday girls are being bombarded with unhealthy physical prototypes varying from models to pop stars.

Holmes motivation to begin this campaign came during the London Olympics, when grabbing a copy of The Sun to check up on the British athlete’s progress she was exposed to not a display of the many successful female athletes, but a page three girl doing her thing.

Image from thecommentator.com

While I applaud Holmes for addressing this clear inequality, The Sun paper has been a red top tabloid for years containing soccer, gossip and boobs. The Sun is known for this content, and in my opinion each publication has the right to publish content which is targeted at their own audience.

Audience

For example if popular gay and lesbian publications were campaigned against due to the nature of their publications, the community would not be happy. Of course these are two entirely separate entities, but at the end of the day every individual has the right to choose what they do and don’t absorb from the media.

The media exists in a Beauty and the Beast dimension. It allows freedom of information and unfortunately this can lead to things like page three becoming an accepted part of the print world.

I wish Lucy Ann Holmes the best in her campaign to have page three removed, but at this time I personally don’t believe that campaigning page three girls is the most troubling moral issue that women face within the modern media world.

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3. Labour Marriage Equality Bill Published

As we all know the Programme for Government made a commitment to include marriage equality under the Constitutional Convention.  The topic is going to be discussed by the convention on April 13th and 14th, in lieu of this the Labour Party has published a Bill designed to remove the obstacles in the Constitution that prohibit same sex marriage in this country.

The launch

Senator Ivana Bacik and Councilor Eoin Holmes launched The Civil Registration (Marriage Equality) Bill 2013 earlier this week but what does it do?  If made law the Bill alters the Civil Registration Act by removing, within the law which facilitates for civil marriage, a specific reference to gender.  This of course all follows on from the party leader publically supporting the rights of same sex couples to marry.

Senator Bacik has said that

This simple amendment to the Civil Registration Act will remove the statutory bar which prevents same sex couples getting married. It will make it easier to achieve equality for same sex couples with opposite sex couples in availing of civil marriages. With the Constitutional Convention considering the issue of marriage equality in April, this Bill provides a simple method for removing the statutory obstacle so as to help enabling that to be achieved.

Allowing same sex marriage is a core Labour principle. We are proud to be pioneering this legislation, just as Labour was to the fore in the decriminalisation of homosexuality over 20 years ago and by pushing for civil unions in advance of the introduction of civil partnership in 2010.

As recently as last week Labour also introduced an amendment to the Employment Equality Act, to ensure that religious-run, or controlled, schools or hospitals, can no longer opt out of anti-discrimination laws. This will act as an important safeguard for LGBT employees, single parents, and others who currently face potential discrimination.

Her collegue Councilor Holmes adding

Gay and lesbian people in Ireland have been to the fore in bringing about social change through their courage in coming forward and being true to themselves.

I am encouraging people in Meath East to vote for a more modem, liberal, and tolerant Ireland by giving their support to the Labour Party. By publishing this Bill in Ashbourne we are demonstrating to voters Labour’s commitment to use our position in Government to bring about a better and fairer society for all Irish people.

If you would like to get involved then have a look here to see if any of your constituent representatives are on the Convention and contact them to let them know you are hoping they will be supportive.

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Ireland is in a recession. Or struggling to recover from one, depending on your definition of recession. Increased numbers of people are struggling to find work, keep a roof over their heads, and pay for fairly basic things like food and childcare. Irish employees work longer hours for less pay compared with European averages and here, as with many other countries, we’re seeing the gender pay gap increase for the first time since we started counting that sort of thing. Many of us know people who have lost their jobs, homes or had their businesses go bankrupt, if it hasn’t happened to us ourselves.  According to the media, and the word on the street, the picture is pretty bleak, and has been for years now.

Prospering

Still prosperous
It’s a sobering, perspective-inducing thought, then, to learn that Dublin is the fourth most prosperous city in the world according to the UN’s State Of The World’s Cities report. A position it only holds because it ranks well in all five categories taken into account by the UN while drawing up their prosperity index: environmental sustainability, equity and social inclusion, productivity, infrastructure, and quality of life. In fact, if you remove equity and social inclusion as a factor Dublin drops to seventh place.  Dublin ranks above many of the cities people are emigrating to at speed, such as London and New York where the gap between rich and poor is much more exaggerated than at home.
What is a prosperous city? The UN report sees the potential of cities as follows:

Cities are where human beings find satisfaction of basic needs and essential public goods. Where various products can be found in sufficiency and their utility enjoyed. Cities are also where ambitions, aspirations and other immaterial aspects of life are realized, providing contentment and happiness and increasing the prospects of individual and collective well-being.

 

Things like aspiration realisation is a hell of a lot harder to measure than GDP so I have to take my hat off to the report authors for trying to measure such a complex, human version of ‘prosperity’. The report authors make a strong case for pushing aside a purely monetary idea of prosperity and the results are surprising. If you’d handed me a piece of paper and asked me to estimate the top ten most prosperous cities in the world, even if I was told to include things like environmental sustainability and social equity, I wouldn’t have placed my native city in the top ten.

Go east and make gay while the sun shines

Oh Vienna
It certainly doesn’t change the fact that people are still struggling to cover bills and find work, but perhaps there is something in this report that we can hold on to and, as the country continues to recover, use to reassess our ideas of success. The Celtic Tiger world did not work, but a world where wealth is measured by the narrowness of the gap society leaves between rich and poor is a world I’d be very happy to live in.

Among others, Dublin outranks (in no particular order) New York, London, Paris, Toyko, Melbourne, Milan, Copenhagen and Barcelona so if you’re still keen to emigrate where should you go? Well, if you have any German, the report gives plenty of reason to head for Austria where the capital city Vienna, with or without the equity index, is the most prosperous city in the world.

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The deadline for submissions to the constitutional convention on the topic of same sex marriage is tomorrow. If you haven’t aired your opinions on the topic, and have been meaning to, then set aside some time today so you can get your submission together ahead of the deadline.

Even though there is no overt reference to marriage as being between a man and a woman in the Irish constitution, there is an argument that same-sex marriage may be unconstitutional because it is near certain that when the constitution was written the authors would not have considered that the word ‘marriage’ could indicate anything other than the union of a man and a woman.

Change it!

The constitutional convention is a great opportunity to clarify whether or not the Irish constitution will recognise marriage between any two consenting adults or exclusively between a man and a woman.

ARTICLE 41
3 1° The State pledges itself to guard with special care the institution of Marriage, on which the Family is founded, and to protect it against attack.

Bunreacht na hEireann

Get submitting!

Submissions can be as legal, political or personal as you want. For your inspiration I have collected are some excerpts from what has already been submitted on the issue:

Marriage is a social and cultural institution, but it is also a legal and economic institution that protects families, and adults and children within those families, and confers certain benefits on them. TASC’s submission is focused on the State’s role in providing for civil marriage, which is the legal and economic institution, rather than the wider social and cultural institution of marriage. The latter is conducted (rightly) outside the purview of State regulation, in accordance with the beliefs and cultural traditions of Ireland’s diverse religions and ethnic groups, and in line with individual preferences.

TASC’s submission focuses on economic equality in relation to marriage.In brief, we would like to emphasis to the Convention the importance of equality of treatment under tax law, and to reinforce the case that a just tax system requires equality of treatment between heterosexual couples and same-sex couples, and their children. In our analysis, the best and most straightforward way of ensuring justice of tax treatment is to extend marriage to same sex couples.

TASC

As a gay man, I believe that it is important that all voices within our community are heard on the issue of “Same Sex Marriage”. I do not come to this argument as someone with devout religious views, having given up on organised religion many years ago. I am mentioning this because the argument should not be defined along of the lines of traditional religious views versus currently fashionable liberal thinking. I am a liberal, but I also believe that an institution like marriage, which has served us well for centuries, should be preserved as it has been since the inception of the state…
Therefore, I am asking you to protect the current definition of marriage and the family and reject any attempt to undermine it. The rights that same sex couples need are already guaranteed by civil partnerships and I know of no one in the community who has rejected civil partnerships, in favour of waiting for “same sex marriage”.

Keith Mills

I urge the Constitutional Convention to make a positive recommendation in favour of the provision of same-sex marriage. This is a serious matter of equality, and I believe that every person has the right to marry the person they love.

Leanne Harte

Equality is not just a word, or a fad. It’s something many societies strive for, some doing a better job than others. I believe affording the same rights and responsibilities that married couples currently have under law to same-sex couples would be a very positive step in terms of Ireland and it’s journey to being a more equal and fair society.Same-sex couples and their children currently do not have the same rights as their straight family and friends. In particular, existing Civil Partnership legislation ignores the reality that there are children in the care of same-sex couples, and as such fails to fully safeguard the child’s right to a family and all the protections that come with one.

Mark Philips

In writing to the constitutional convention I want to put on record our support for the campaign to secure full marriage equality for Gay & Lesbian people.The Union has always had a policy supporting the propagation of legislation to give proper legal status, rights and obligations to both heterosexual and homosexual couples. Our policies have been brought to the attention of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and we have corresponded with Government Ministers seeking their implementation.

PSEU

Marriage is marriage. It is not appropriate for any individual, group or temporary political majority to tinker around with. Marriage is bigger than all of us, bigger even than any particular generation.

Donncha O’Cathail

Although the Constitution does not define ‘marriage’ as being between a man and a woman, it does define ‘the family’ as being based on marriage. Many rights under Irish law accrue to ‘families’ and none of these rights are accessible to LGBT families because of the ban on marriage equality. Ireland is due to introduce legislation to recognise the legal gender of transgender people. However, the ban on marriage equality means that there is a strong possibility that this legislation will require that a married transgender person divorce from their spouse before they apply for legal recognition of their true gender. To force a committed couple to divorce, in order to avoid providing for marriage equality is unconscionable.

LGBT Noise

Of course, same sex marriage isn’t the only issue the constitutional convention is seeking your opinions on. There are nine categories for submissions: Presidential term, voting age, electoral system, right to vote, same-sex marriage, role of women, women in politics, blasphemy and ‘other’. The opportunity to directly influence the document on which this state is built is a once in a lifetime opportunity – probably once in a number of lifetimes – and I’d urge everyone to to submit on any issue of importance to them.

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