Madam, – This weekend marks the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots and the birth of the modern LGBT Rights Movement. Community members around the world will commemorate this important event with the annual Gay Pride Festival. In Ireland, Pride offers us a chance to celebrate the great improvements to the rights of lesbian, gay and transgendered persons which have occurred over the past two decades but also to highlight the numerous rights inequalities which continue to persist within our society.
At present, LGBT (lesbian gay bisexual and transgender) community members in Ireland are entitled to neither civil marriage nor civil partnership.
This situation, at odds with the position in Northern Ireland and many other EU states, leaves gay and lesbian persons vulnerable in terms of next-of-kin rights, taxation and spousal benefits. It also devalues LGBT relationships, by suggesting that gay and lesbian love is abnormal and unworthy of social recognition.
Similarly, LGBT couples are currently not permitted to adopt children within the Republic of Ireland. Gay and lesbian persons must adopt as individuals and live with their families as the sole legal parent. This position, apart from being detrimental to the welfare of the child and ludicrous in the light of the growing need for stable adoptive homes, runs contrary to the spirit of Article 41.1.1. of the Constitution which describes the family as the natural, primary and fundamental unit group of society.
Finally, Irish gay men are still subject to the arbitrary and discriminatory blood ban which prohibits males who have ever had intercourse with another male, whether protected or not, from ever donating blood. This particular policy, which the Irish Blood Transfusion Service admits to being clearly discriminatory, continues to be applied despite the introduction of universal screening and the fact that heterosexual couples who engage in similar sexual activities are equally at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.
Let us hope that when we celebrate the 41st anniversary of Stonewall we can also celebrate a more just and equal society for all. – Yours, etc,