(photo taken from nbcnews.com)
by Christos Mouzeviris
Following an overwhelming support for a YES vote, Ireland became the first country to do so by a popular vote. It is astonishing to think, that equality was given to LGBT Irish citizens, not by their government; but their fellow citizens, in a wonderful expression of solidarity and acceptance. The celebrations that followed the YES camp’s victory signified in fact the transformation of Ireland; from being among the most conservative countries in Europe, to a land of equality. It is a remarkable development, given the fact that homosexuality in Ireland was only decriminalized in 1993.On May the 22nd, the Irish electorate marked a historic day for their country. It was asked to decide whether to give same sex couples the right to marry, granting them equal status. With the highest turnout in any referendum in recent years, Ireland approved gay marriages by 62% of the votes.
Since then, the Catholic nation made huge progressive steps regarding gay rights. Although Civil Partnerships were recognised and performed in Ireland already since 2011, LGBT activists pushed on for full equality. All political parties in the country backed a YES vote. Various LGBT groups also campaigned for marriage equality, leaving only a number of Catholic religious institutions opposing the bill.
Their campaign focused mainly on the children’s status, as they claimed that gay marriage will redefine the traditional notion of family. In reality this referendum was not about adoptions or children, but about the right to marry the person you love, regardless of their sex. The issue of adoption was dealt and discussed by the Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015, not the marriage equality campaign. It was signed into law on the 6th of April, a month before the referendum.
In this way, the Irish government wanted to separate the two issues and avoid confusion. Though same sex couples will be able to adopt under this bill, the referendum was about giving the same legal status to gay couples. Thus, Ireland is quickly emerging from its conservative past, swiftly becoming a modern European nation. But that is not all. The small country now wants to inspire other nations in Europe and beyond, to follow its example. Consequently, Ireland is found in the forefront of the LGBT international community’s struggle for equality worldwide. Rightly so, Ireland must become an exemplar for all Europe’s nations. Marriage equality should become the norm in all EU states.
As the free movement of people is one of the fundamental rights of every EU citizen, it will be absurd to have marriages that will be recognised only in some countries in the union. In addition, what will be the legal status of children being raised or adopted by same sex couples, if these families decide to move to another EU nation? A gay person cannot grant his or her non-EU partner residency rights, just like a straight couple. Nor can he adopt his partner’s child from a previous heterosexual relationship, becoming legally its guardian. Europe prides itself of providing equality to all its citizens, plus being a beacon of human rights in its territories and beyond.
Any sort of discrimination based on nationality, race and religion, plus of course sexual orientation, has no place in the modern societies of our continent. By granting equal rights to its LGBT community, Europe will end centuries old discrimination and injustice. Millions of its citizens are being treated as second class citizens, as their unions are not being legally recognized. Europe’s own transformation to an equal continent will be incomplete, as long as there are minority groups that are being treated differently.
