There are still plenty of people who are disappointed with the push for civil unions and same sex marriage. They see it as buying into a middle-class, religious, heterosexual ideal that really has nothing to do with gay people and how we live our lives.

After months of waiting and years of toiling by the LGBT community, the day is finally drawing nearer for the Civil Partnership Bill to be debated in the Dáil and the Seanad. Minister for (in)Justice Dermot Ahern TD (left) is due to introduce the Bill in early December, according to comments recently made by An Taoiseach, Brian Cowan. It is bound to be one of the most contentious debates held in the Oireachtas this year and is going to be a helluva lot more interesting than NAMA.

On Wednesday, a chief justice of a federal court in the U.S. demanded to know precisely what is meant when opponents of marriage equality say that such recognition would undermine marriage. The case goes to trial in January 2010, and could have an impact on other jurisdictions, including Ireland.

I’m sorry.. Last time that I checked, I was sure that Seán Brady was not an elected representative of this country, nor is he a member of government. And yet, he seems to think that he can stick his oar in concerning how the law of the land is shaped.

Who’d have thought that a lesbian couple would be celebrating 70 years together? Well why not? I think there are many couples out there who have had many years together, they just live in secret, but not these two. After listening to people on the radio and reading articles in the papers about how marriage is a sacrament and all that, reading about these ladies is like a breath of fresh air.

LGBT groups all over Ireland are up in arms over The Civil Partnership Bill, which was published yesterday. Read all about it here. The biggest indictment of the Bill? The Iona Institute congratulating the Government on “protecting the family”. On this day of celebration, prepare to get angry.

The newsdesk has been a-flutter with reports that members of direct-action community group for fair treatment of lgbtq people, EQUALS, are demonstrating their discontent with what they see as the codification of inequality in the Civil Partnerships Bill 2009 at Leinster House this Thursday lunchtime.

For those of us living under a rock, or out in that unseasonable sunny summer weather here in Ireland (myself included), last week’s ruling by the California Supreme Court may have slipped by unnoticed. The court’s decision effectively means that the vote by the simple majority to pass Proposition 8 still stands. Here, I briefly try to break down the ruling to its main points, including its potentially dangerous effects.

Recent years have seen gay rights activism in Ireland gathering momentum and a new wave of advocates has pushed the rights of LGBT people to the fore of the equality agenda. One such advocate, Lisa Connell, has now thrown her hat into the ring for a seat on Dublin City Council. Lisa took time out from her busy campaigning schedule to answer a few questions for us…

Last night in Dublin city, Pantibar on Capel Street was packed to the rafters with eager punters. But the customers weren’t there to watch Barcelona trounce Manchester United, they were avidly listening to a distinguished triumvirate of legal experts expounding the legal and social nuances of civil partnership and marriage.