DUP Archives - ACOMSDave

Brexit in one!

24/07/2021 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Brexit in one! I have clearly stated many times that I found the departure from the EU to be a farce; so many lies, mistruths and out of it all we get the Brexit deal which is very close to scuppering the Good Friday Agreement. An agreement which is not perfect, has at least allowed the people of N Ireland to live relatively peacefully, and for the LGBTQ+ community to continue to fight for their rights, and most of the political parties now in N Ireland at least on paper support our community.

As an example of how Brexit has failed, I would suggest reading the article in the Guardian ‘Out! How Brexit sent one UK tennis kit firm to Romania‘, which highlighted the plight of one small company that moved lock, stock and barrel to Romania. And, I am not just talking about the company, but the owners with their children also.

…The Walkingtons decided they had to relocate lock, stock and barrel with their two children – after whom the company is named – last autumn and are now in the process of moving into new premises in Romania, where they are not only free of Brexit bureaucracy but are also benefiting from abundant skilled labour and help from the country’s authorities…

But to further compound this story about one small company, there is evidence that a substantial amount of other small companies are doing the same with Department for International Trade Bresit in one! advisors advising them to do so!

…Six months after the UK finally left the EU’s single market, thousands of other small companies have faced similar problems, and many have either relocated entirely to the EU or set up branches or warehouses inside the EU to avoid the export delays and costs. Advisers at the Department for International Trade have encouraged many to do so. The authorities in EU countries including the Netherlands, Austria and Romania are going out of their way to help UK companies shift their operations to the continent, knowing local jobs and new economic activity will be created…

This would tend to indicate a further weakening of the British economy.

Brexit in one! But bringing the article back to LGBTQ+ politics, I am afraid that the DUP’s latest little foray into trying to win the LGBTQ+ vote is limp handed. A few words by one of the team which are almost repudiated the next day by the leader in terms of ‘others should be apologising to us’ does not indicate a party that has accepted us. To this, we can also add the continued delay by the Prime Minister (Rt Hon Boris Johnston) with one review after another, and nothing actually happens – reminds me of Yes Minister – A Public Inquiry.

We also have various stories now highlighting how since the pandemic, incidents of violence to eh LGBTQ+ community have increased.

These are not helped by the stories coming out of Hungary of violence being perpetuated on the LGBTQ+ community – and now we have the new EU chief Janez Jansa, Prime Minister of Slovenia, warning the EU that if it continues to try to impost ‘the west’s liberal views on Central Europe’ then it would be ‘the fastest road to collapse’ of the bloc.

Links:

Virtual Belfast Reception

04/07/2021 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

On July 1st, 2021 the PinkNews, in partnership with Citi and the Rainbow Project, under the title “Virtual Belfast Reception” organised a panel discussion on LGBT+ equality in Northern Ireland. The Virtual Belfast Reception online meeting involved Doug Beattie, UUP leader, Mary Lou McDonald, president of Sinn Fein, Colm Eastwood, SDLP leader, Naomi Long, Alliance leader and justice minister, and Mal O’Hara, a Green Party councillor in Belfast and the event was moderated by John O’Doherty, director of the Rainbow Project.

The virtual meeting was conducted through Zoom, with the audience being able to view but not comment except through the messenger facility of the program. Areas under discussion were:

- - - - Transgender
        
        Self ID Laws
        
        LGBTQ+ and Education
        
        Conversion Therapy

Obviously, during 1hr 30min+ discussion, there were sidetracks; the main one being over political parties and LGBTQ+ rights to which Paul Bradley, deputy leader of the DUP, said that in response to a question from Mr O’Doherty about the DUP and its history of negativity on LGBTQ+ issues,

“I’m not going to defend some of the things that have been said over the years, because they have been absolutely atrocious. They’ve been shocking, so they have.
“I certainly couldn’t stand by many of those comments – in fact, all of those comments.
“Because I know that the hurt they have caused people and I know that fed into the hatred some people have had to endure in their life, and I think that’s absolutely wrong.
“I think the vast majority of those people that made those comments are no longer there, and the ones that are there have said that they have learned their lessons, that their language at times has not been right.
“It’s something I’ve brought up on numerous occasions with my own party because I think not sometimes, all the time, our language very much that we use as elected representatives has an impact in wider society.
“I can certainly say I apologise for what others have said and done in the past because I do think that there has been some very hurtful comments and some language that really should not have been used.”

(A full transcript can be found in the Newsletter link which is at the end of this article)

Now, this was a welcome response, however, it was then followed by Sir Jeffrey Donaldson speaking on Sunday, July 5th 2021|:

Mr Donaldson acknowledged past comments by members of the party had been “hurtful” to LGBT people here, before adding it was “not just in the case of the DUP”.

While the DUP leader said it is right “that we say sorry and acknowledge hurt”, Mr Donaldson went on to add: “Equally in time, I hope others will be able to acknowledge that they have caused hurt, for example to people from a strongly held faith perspective.”

This is the politician two shoe shuffle, give on one hand and then take away by blaming it all on someone else.

Much as Paul Bradly may wish, and indeed believes, that the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) is making strives to reform, it would seem that its current leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, has more in keeping with the leader he replaced Edwin Poots, or if you go back further Mrs Iris Robinson, a previous MLA and wife of the then First Minister ‘Peter Robinson’, and ‘her’ psychologist who claimed that he could cure gays (gay conversion therapy).

Virtual Belfast Reception

Whilst I have concnetrated on the DUP during this virtual meeting, the other participants were very clear in the answers and supportive. Some of the phrases which I have written down are:

Even though things have changed, there is ‘always a need to remain alert’.
If you ‘Stop pushing forward, then we will move back’
Even though we have had ‘Immense change, the lesson is we have to keep gong’
‘Always think about those young people in turmoil’
‘A Safe Place For All Of Our People’

Links:

Equality, not when you have a Petition of Concern

30/10/2016 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

I have written previously on First Minister Foster’s inability to move with what the voters have clearly indicated on; it would seem that the DUP remain blinkered to where we are as a society in regards to marriage equality, and if they are so inclined with this minority how are they with others?
I call yet again on the First Minister to stop using the petition of concern to hide behind. This instrument is long overdue to be removed from civilised politics on both sides, to allow proper politics to move forward along with the country.
I refer the Fist Minister to a report by the BBC in July 2013 which would seem to suggest that Petitions of Concern were being abused by both main political parties, and that the 1998 Act section governing their use was not clear enough and that Petitions of Concern need to review.
The SDLP leader, Mr Durkan, at that time said:-“I have made the point several times before and do so again that the standing orders need to be corrected in accordance with the agreement and the 1998 Act.
“The argument can also be made, and I made it at the time, that the 1998 Act could have been more explicit in providing for the procedure intended.”
Petitions of concern: Is Stormont’s safeguard system being abused?

These figures outline the number of times each party has had members sign a petition of concern. As some documents were signed by more than one party, there will be some overlap which is why the total number of petitions in this table amount to more than the total number tabled during the last mandate.

Stormont’s petition of concern used 115 times in five years

Call her Kim Jong Foster, she prefers dictatorship to democracy.

Source: Anti-gay crusade of Arlene Foster, Northern Ireland’s First Minister

Equality in Marriage Blocked Again

27/10/2016 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Government is put in place to govern, that we can all accept. However it is supposedly done on the basis of consent and democracy. Government is supposed to listen to the electorate (not just at ballot and election time) but throughout the duration of its time in office! In consequence, I would draw First Minister Arlene Foster’s attention to the Mori poll published in the Belfast Telegraph in June of this year, which shows that 70% of the electorate agrees with gay marriage. (Survey shows 70% support for same-sex marriages in Northern Ireland) – this poll clearly indicates that the electorate has moved on, and that gay marriage is acceptable. How much longer will the DUP continue to bury not just its head, but its whole body in the sand about what is a right – this is about equality and fairness. Dave McFarlane, Community Journalist

Attempts to introduce same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland are set to be thwarted for at least another five years after the Democratic Unionists insisted they would continue to block a

Source: First Minister Arlene Foster vows to continue blocking attempts to introduce same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland – BelfastTelegraph.co.uk

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT? – LGSO

12/08/2016 By ACOMSDave 1 Comment

Hiding in Plain Sight – Queer people in NornIrl are used to (locally) powerful elements, namely the now-largest political party, the DUP DUP

(Democratic Unionist Party) and the Free Presbyterian Church, both constructed by the late Dr. Ian Paisley, being resolutely opposed to, in essence, any rights for LGBTs. The situation in other places, particularly other parts of the ‘Anglosphere’ can can appear wreathed in a pinko-lavender glow. We are cosily slotting into British, especially London society, it seems.

How odd, then, was it to read and hear of the puzzlement on the foot of the BBC Proms recent ‘outreach’ to amateur LGSO

orchestras. (Most such bands are not ‘amateur’ in the strict sense of the word, being made up partly of professional musicians who teach or are ‘session’ musicians in recording studios,or are simply retired or bringing up families).

The puzzlement was caused by the LGSO (London Gay Symphony Orchestra), even liberal[ish] blatts were, on the face if things, taken aback. The blatts seemed not to have been aware of the LGSO’s existence, including the journos who should HAVE KNOWN – LIKE THE ONES WHO DIDN’T TURN OUT WHEN IT was working with the USA choirs. Even the local blatts, and the (two) in Islington are professional and consceintiously ‘local’ – and have Lefty histories, they were started by Communist Party people who left after Prague in 1968. A substantial number of them didn’t want to simply dissolve into their surroundings. That was by an organisation founded on May 1996, that has 150+ members, and gives a minimum of four concerts per annum, usually given in the C of E church Saint Sepulcre, Holborn Viaduct- the up-coming autumn one is billed for St. S’s.usually in a church on the border of Islington and the City of London. It first rehearsed and gave concerts in the Drill Hall a Gay-oriented arts centre, since closed down due to ‘austerity’.

With a bit o’luck the LGSO (there’s a similar band in Birmingham) will get ‘picked on’ by the Beeb and show their stuff. They really ought to make records, some major bands in London, and similar large cities sell recordings of the concerts audiences have just sat through. The LGSO filled the Royal Festival Hallsome years ago accompanying LGBT choirs from Europe and the USA. Thus it isn’t unused to critical audiences – though the critics in the ‘straight’ press ignored the event, even though it was given on behalf of two charities.

Further links:

Hiding in Plain Sight - LGSO

Change.org Petition Launched to Stop the DUP using Petition of Concern to derail Equality in NI

14/02/2016 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

People in Northern Ireland are sick of living in a discriminatory backwater for gay people’ – Patrick Corrigan (Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland Programme Director)

The Northern Ireland Assembly in Stormont have now voted on the issue of marriage equality 5 times. All 5 of those motions were blocked by the Democratic Unionist Party through their use of a parliamentary veto called the “petition of concern.”
Under the complex rules of power sharing in Northern Ireland, parties from either the unionist or nationalist community can use this veto if they feel there is not enough backing from Protestants or Catholics for particular legislation. It was designed to ensure no one community dominated the other following the 1998 Belfast agreement.
This mechanism established to ensure the rights of minorities in Northern Ireland is being continually abused to deny a fundamental right to the LGBT community and, because of this, Northern Ireland is lagging behind the rest of Western Europe in adopting a fairer, more equal and more forward thinking approach to human rights.
Four previous motions failed to reach a majority in favour of Marriage Equality. However, even if any of these motions did achieve a majority in favour , the DUP had already implemented the petition of concern prior to each vote to ensure the result was a foregone conclusion.
This was also the case with vote 5 in November 2015, but on this occasion the mechanism was officially enacted to veto a majority of politicians who voted ‘AYE’ in favour of the legislation.
Four independent unionist assembly members joined nationalists and others with 53 votes in favour of marriage equality – one vote ahead of the remaining unionists and independents opposed to any reform. A narrow majority but a majority all the same.
The party known as the “Democratic” Unionist Party (DUP) thwarted a democratic vote and derailed equality by using the mechanism unfairly on this issue and it seems most people are not happy about this.
Numerous surveys have shown that a majority of people in NI are now in favour of marriage equality.

In November 2015 a poll jointly commissioned by BBC Northern Ireland and Irish broadcaster RTÉ, revealed that 64 percent of people support equal marriage in Northern Ireland while just 23 percent oppose it. Over 2000 people were surveyed for the cross-borders research, carried out by the polling company B&A. Not far off the landslide 62% YES vote in Ireland’s marriage equality referendum last year.
In June 2015 an Ipsos MORI survey interviewed a representative sample of 1,000 adults aged 16+ from across Northern Ireland. The interviews were conducted face-to-face between 20th May and 8th June 2015 with data weighted to match the profile of the population. The results showed that 68% of those surveyed supported marriage equality. The figure rises to 82% among 16 to 34-year-olds and 75% support among 35 to 54-year-olds, but falls to 47% among those aged 55 and over.

In 2005 UK government actuaries suggested 6% (1 in 16.66) of the population, or about 3.6 million citizens, are either gay or lesbian. The Treasury calculated this estimate when analysing the financial implications of the Civil Partnerships Act. The figures were based on the 2000 National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (NATSAL), which asked respondents about sexual attitudes and behaviours, but not orientation, and on comparable research from Europe and America.
In a study examining the responses of 7,441 individuals, conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute in Ireland, found that 2.7% of men and 1.2% of women self-identified as homosexual or bisexual. A question based on a variant of the Kinsey scale found that 5.3% of men and 5.8% of women reported some same-sex attraction. Of those surveyed, 7.1% of men and 4.7% of women reported a homosexual experience some time in their life so far.
In reality however this has less to do with numbers and more to do with human beings with feelings and without access to an equal definition and commitment to love. Most of us will know someone who is gay. This issue is not just about our friends, family, acquaintances, colleagues and neighbours. It is about standing up for basic human rights.
The DUP have to stop differentiating peoples’ rights under the law according to their sexuality. It’s simple genetics. It would be absurd to say blonde people couldn’t marry. We’ll give them blond partnerships. Blond people could ruin the sanctity of marriage.
The DUP should step up on this issue and show NI is about equality and unity. The negative narrative has clearly has now so evidently isolated us in Western Europe.
The love between same sex and opposite sex couples is the same. Why can’t their love be recognised in the same way?
Love is love regardless of gender and hair colour.
This shouldn’t be an issue of gay rights, blond rights, transgender rights or Christian rights. This is about human rights and the equal recognition of love under the law.
It has already been established that any marriage equality legislation will grant religious organisations protections so that they will not have to officiate same sex ceremonies. This means there is no threat to the religious interpretation and view that marriage should remain as between a man and a woman. It’s just not right that in a democratic society everyone should be forced to think that way. The only people truly affected by this legislation would be those who wish to marry someone of the same sex.
Sign this petition to voice your opposition to the DUP’s abuse of the petition of concern and to petition OFMDFM to agree not to use such a veto on what is evidently a human rights and equality issue.
As first minister and leader of the DUP, Arlene Foster has the power to bring Northern Ireland into the 21st century and alter the perception that her party is trapped in the past. The last thing Northern Ireland needs for its image right now is the perception that it is “on the wrong side of history.” Sign your name on the petition HERE and stand up for human rights.

Letter to

Office of the First and Deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland (OFMDFMNI)

Stop the DUP using the ‘petition of concern’ to veto Marriage Equality in Northern Ireland

The Queen of Ireland: Gay rights movie released in Northern Ireland is sheer bliss

08/11/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

A charismatic drag queen is the star of this documentary about the Republic’s gay marriage referendum, writes Andrew Johnston

The Queen of Ireland couldn’t have timed its Northern Ireland release better. The documentary about marriage equality in the Republic of Ireland arrives in the same week the DUP scuppered a majority Assembly vote to allow same-sex weddings in the north.

After watching this deeply affecting film, the anger, sadness and frustration felt by many at the party’s underhand use of a petition of concern will be intensified. Director Conor Horgan’s beautifully shot and edited movie follows Panti Bliss, the drag queen alter-ego of Co Mayo-born performer and activist Rory O’Neill, who somewhat inadvertently became the LGBT movement’s figurehead in the run-up to May’s marriage rights referendum. In her towering heels and extravagant, blonde wig, she is an imposing presence, yet O’Neill’s larger-than-life character is as persuasive as she is visually arresting. In his own words, Panti is a “giant cartoon woman”, but she is also an eloquent and incisive commentator, who counts the likes of Stephen Fry and Madonna among her legion of fans, and in 2014, received an Irish Person of the Year Award.

Her creator’s life has certainly been an eventful one. The Queen of Ireland takes us from O’Neill’s childhood in the small town of Ballinrobe, where he was, as he puts it, “the local gay”, through the perhaps inevitable art college years, to the development of his stage persona during hedonistic adventures in London and Tokyo. Eventually, O’Neill comes home to a relatively more progressive Ireland and embarks on a campaigning trail that ultimately leads to the Republic becoming the first country to approve same-sex marriage through a public vote. The Queen of Ireland isn’t just powerful because of the emotive subject matter; it has a rich dramatic arc, too. There is tragedy when O’Neill suffers a serious health setback, and when he invokes costly legal proceedings with contentious remarks made on RTE’s Saturday Night Show, a row that is dubbed “Pantigate”. But there is triumph when he returns to Ballinrobe to perform to a sold-out crowd in a marquee in a car park near his family home, and later, when the ‘Yes’ result is returned in the referendum. As a stand-up, Panti is smart and hilarious, albeit one you might not take your mother to see (and indeed, O’Neill tones down the swearing and explicit sexual references for the homecoming gig, attended by his elderly parents). Panti’s abrasive one-liners earn The Queen of Ireland its 15 certificate, but behind the facade, O’Neill reveals a complex personality. He is as humble and kind as his self-described “court jester” drag act is outrageous. It may be Horgan’s film, but it’s O’Neill and Panti’s show, and as narrator, the cross-dressing star steers the narrative to its startling denouement – Ireland’s legalising of gay marriage. To see same-sex partners celebrating in streets where 22 years previously homosexuality had been punishable by prison delivers an emotional punch on a par with any feel-good flick. If you’d pitched this tale to a Hollywood producer in the early Nineties, you might well have been laughed out of the room. The realities of being a gay man or woman in Ireland in the Seventies and Eighties are well covered through extensive interviews and newsreel footage, and it’s heartening to see how far Irish society has come, though for audiences in the north, it will be dispiriting to be reminded how far we are lagging behind. The Queen of Ireland deserves to be seen by everyone, be they gay, straight, male, female, young or old. In fact, this important piece of work should be shown in schools – and maybe even in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The DUP are risking a great deal in blocking equal marriage

04/11/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Siobhan Fenton

3 NOVEMBER 2015

By misusing the structures of the devolved assembly, the DUP could upset a fragile peace.

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t’s fair to say that Northern Ireland isn’t exactly a trail blazer when it comes to social justice issues. Long after England, Scotland, Wales and finally the Republic of Ireland voted to legalise same-sex marriage, the country continues to lag behind.
However, this changed yesterday as Northern Ireland finally voted yes to same-sex marriage. A cause for celebration, you might think, but same-sex couples won’t be booking into registry offices any time soon. Despite the bill being supported by 50.5 per cent of MLAs, it still cannot pass due to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) blocking it.
This has happened because under the devolved Stormont parliament, political parties can trigger a “petition of concern” to block legislation in the chamber. Once issued, it means that a bill cannot just get a simple majority vote overall, instead it needs to get a majority amongst Nationalist or Catholic politicians, as well as a majority amongst Unionist or Protestant politicians.
Many of the DUP’s leading politicians are staunch traditional Protestants who are fierce in their opposition to what they term “sodomites” within Northern Ireland. They are resolute in their determination to block LGBT rights through any means possible, no matter how underhand or undemocratic.
Although they were unable to stop same-sex marriage being approved by a majority, the DUP were able to stop it from being approved by a majority of Unionists by triggering the petition and then voting no themselves. This technicality meant that today’s vote cannot count and Northern Ireland will remain the only part of the UK or Ireland without marriage equality.
The “petition of concern” mechanism is thought to be unique to Northern Ireland’s political structures and was embedded in power-sharing to protect either side of the religious divide if a bill was genuinely harmful or unjust towards either ‘side’. However, the DUP have begun misusing the process in order to block same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland.
Today’s vote leaves Northern Ireland in a difficult position in terms of democracy. It will have significant repercussions for the nature of devolution and the relationship between Westminster and Stormont.
Westminster will now have to consider whether to intervene to circumvent the DUP’s petition in order to enable Northern Irish same-sex couples to finally marry. If they do not do so, they will be accused of letting the DUP’s bully tactics triumph and of allowing the Northern Irish LGBT community to suffer.
Yet, if Westminster does intervene, it will also face accusations of undermining the principle of devolution- that Northern Irish issues are for Northern Irish politicians alone to deal with.
Above all, the incident is yet another example of how power sharing structures negotiated in the 1990s are showing their strain. Whilst they might have proved effective elements of the Assembly in its infancy, “petitions of concern” are being misused by politicians to undermine the business of their own parliament. As Stormont’s near collapse in September proved, a number of elements of the Good Friday Agreement and Northern Ireland Assembly are proving to no longer be fit for purpose and are doing more to impede than support democracy in the province.

DUP’s Jim Wells in bid to clear name over gay remarks

16/07/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

15 July 2015
From the sectionNorthern Ireland

Former health minister Jim Wells claimed his meaning had been misconstrued

DUP politician Jim Wells has launched a bid to clear his name after he was accused of linking child abuse and gay relationships.

He resigned as health minister after a tape from a hustings event in Downpatrick in April was made public.
In the tape, he said: “You don’t bring a child up in a homosexual relationship. That a child is far more likely to be abused and neglected.”
The minister was then interrupted by uproar from the audience.
In a later statement, he said: “I accept that one line of what I said caused offence and deep concern.”
But he told BBC NI’s Nolan Show on Wednesday that the tape was wrong in that it had been cut short and his meaning had been misconstrued.
“I want to clear my name. I want people to know that I did not say what that tape suggests,” he said.
“This tape totally misrepresented what I said in the live (session).
“The tape links my views on gay adoption and my views as to what happens to children in controversial and angry divorces.
“Had the tape gone on another two minutes we would not be having this discussion.”
Mr Wells told presenter Enda McClafferty that he only realised this when he got a complete transcript of what he had actually said at a later date.
“The tape that went out across the world stopped before I was able to explain what I meant,” he said.
“I did not say that homosexuals abused children.”
“I did say I was opposed to gay marriage, which I am.
“But then I go on to make the argument that when marriages break up – in either a heterosexual or homosexual relationship – if a marriage is in high conflict, this is almost invariably to the detriment of the child.”
Mr Wells said he felt “humiliated” by what had happened.
A police investigation is ongoing.

Editorial: We have previously reported on this story, but now we ask you to make your own mind up – which side of the story do you believe, Mr Wells’ current interpretation or the recording? Comment and let us know.

What Ireland’s Same-Sex Marriage Vote Means for Northern Ireland

28/05/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

EXPANDING THE LGBTQ CONVERSATION

MAY 27 2015 8:00 AM

By Liam Hoare

Par527896 — In December 2005, supporters of same-sex marriage stand in front of protesters vehemently opposed to “anything approaching gay marriage” outside Belfast City Hall as the first partnership ceremonies for U.K. same-sex couples are held.*

A month before the Irish people gave their wholehearted support to marriage equality, the Northern Ireland Assembly voted down same-sex marriage for the fourth time. It was embarrassing then, but after the referendum in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland’s status as the only nation in the British Isles willing to deny same-sex couples the right to marriage—an outpost of homophobic discrimination in Western Europe—is even more disgraceful and unjustifiable.

Northern Ireland’s ignoble status is, on one level, a product of the British political system. Marriage is a “devolved” issue, meaning that England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland have their own laws on same-sex marriage. The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, which introduced marriage equality to England and Wales, did not apply to Northern Ireland, although the law did specify that same-sex marriages entered into in England and Wales are recognized as civil partnerships in Northern Ireland.

Yet the absence of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland is clearly also a matter of political unwillingness. This doesn’t come from the nationalist parties. Both Sinn Fein and the Social Democratic and Labour Party support it, as does the nonsectarian Alliance Party (although some Alliance and SDLP members were mysteriously missing during the recent vote on same-sex marriage). The problem in Northern Ireland is very much the Democratic Unionist Party.

Since it was established by Ian Paisley in 1971, the DUP has been associated with social conservatism and Protestant fundamentalism. Paisley and the DUP were behind the Save Ulster From Sodomy campaign, founded in 1977, which sought for years to prevent the decriminalization of homosexuality in Northern Ireland. The DUP opposed civil partnerships for gay and lesbian couples at the time they were made law in 2005 (and still does), just as it opposes marriage equality today.

Homophobia is inherent to the DUP. Ian Paisley Jr., a member of the U.K. parliament, showed that the apple didn’t fall very far from the tree when he said he was “repulsed” by homosexuality. Iris Robinson, wife of Northern Ireland’s first minister,called homosexuality “disgusting, loathsome, nauseating, wicked, and vile.” And Jim Wells recently resigned as the region’s health minister after saying, “You don’t bring a child up in a homosexual relationship. That … child is far more likely to be abused and neglected.”

Political homophobia is connected with religious power. Northern Irish people find themselves living under what has been called “essentially a theocratic regime,” due to the hold the Calvinist fundamentalist Free Presbyterian Church has over the DUP. A recent study found that Free Presbyterianism “remains the largest faith among both DUP members and elected representatives.” As many as 30.5 percent of DUP members are Free Presbyterians, compared with a measly 0.6 percent of the Northern Irish population at large.

Since the 1970s, Northern Ireland’s LGBTQ activists have used the court system as one path to legal and social change. Indeed, it is because of the European Court of Human Rights that homosexuality was decriminalized in Northern Ireland. In the case of Dudgeon v the United Kingdom, the court ruled that the criminalization of male homosexual acts violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights with regard to the respect for private and family life. (The plaintiff, Jeff Dudgeon, had been persecuted by Northern Irish police throughout the 1970s on account of his homosexuality.)

This month, a court in Belfast ruled against Ashers Baking Co., a Christian-run bakery that refused service to a gay activist who wanted them to make a cake that included a slogan in support of same-sex marriage.* The judge determined that a business run for profit could not use freedom of religion to exempt itself from anti-discrimination law. Right now, there is a challenge underway to the Northern Irish government’s nonrecognition of same-sex marriages conducted in other parts of the United Kingdom.

Alongside the legal route, a mass demonstration organized by the Rainbow Project, Amnesty International, and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions is planned for June 13 in Belfast. “Northern Ireland is now the last bastion of discrimination against gay people in these islands,” Amnesty’s Northern Ireland Program Director Patrick Corrigan said. “People in Northern Ireland are sick of living in a discriminatory backwater for gay people.” Faced with a sclerotic political system, the courts and the streets are, for now, the gay community’s best hopes of overturning the status quo.

*Correction, May 27, 2015: This article originally misstated that Ashers Baking Co. refused service to a gay couple. It was gay activist Gareth Lee who ordered the cake. Also, due to a photo provider error, the caption on this photo originally misstated that the people in the photo were protesting same-sex marriage. The people standing in front of the banner are supporters of same-sex marriage.