Catholics recognise equal rights for gay marriage

12/05/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Reprinted from Belfast Telegraph – 11 May 2015

Normally, when someone declares oneself a person of faith (in my case Catholic), the public – with justification – will make the presumption you are a staunch upholder of the status quo in society. However, such a presumption is not justified anymore.

This change is not seen among the hierarchy, but is very evident among the non-clerical lay people, who have decided to remain in their Church to demand reform. Very many Catholics, especially in the Western world, do not accept the traditional teachings of their Church and yet still insist they are true and loyal followers of Jesus Christ.
When the media reports that the Catholic Church – from the Pope down – is against marriage equality, it does not mean that such a view represents the totality of its members. Modern theology sees the Church not as a static, hierarchical power structure, but as the people of God in movement through history. There are leaders, of course, but they are out in front, exercising true leadership not, as in the past, demanding absolute obedience from their sheep-like followers. Catholics do not leave their self-autonomy and freedom of action at the door of their church when they enter it. At the heart of this new vision of the Church is the certainty that Jesus of Nazareth proclaimed a vision of an alternative society based on justice, equality and inclusivity.

As followers of the way of Jesus, we cannot accept an unjust society where between 5%-10% of citizens are marginalised when it comes to marriage equality, while the rest of their sisters and brothers can enjoy the full exercise of their constitutional right to marry.

When gay people are denied marriage equality, it not only perpetuates an unjust society, but it also diminishes the dignity of those who refuse to recognise the rights of their gay and lesbian sisters and brothers.
BRENDAN BUTLER
By email
– See more at: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/letters/catholics-recognise-equal-rights-for-gay-marriage-31207385.html#sthash.Uq99ySpc.dpuf

IRISH SINGER RELEASES BEAUTIFUL BALLAD FOR YES CAMPAIGN

01/05/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

IRISH SINGER-SONGWRITER, JACK O’ROURKE, HAS RELEASED ‘SILENCE’, A HAUNTING BALLAD ABOUT HIS OWN STRUGGLE FOR SELF ACCEPTANCE.

The poignant track tells the story of an adolescent having to hide his true self to avoid judgement, and beatings, from classmates.
“Silence is about my own struggle to reach self-acceptance,” says O’Rourke. “To the boy that I was, being free to live and love openly felt like an impossible dream.”
O’Rourke says that the song, proceeds of which will go towards Amnesty International’s Let’s Make History – YES Campaign, was originally slated to appear on his new EP The Other Side of Now. With the upcoming referendum on marriage equality, O’Rourke decided to release the single ahead of time.
“Ireland has a chance to take a huge step forward on the 22nd of May, to make it clear that we believe in equality – that we want to be a society where everyone is free to live and love in the open.
“I believe my song could resonate with so many people – gay, straight, whatever and particularly people on the fence about how to vote. I think people will understand that me getting married, or many like me, won’t cause the sky to fall in. The fact that my country men and women will hopefully decide that I should be free to marry the person that I love is a huge deal; it would have seemed impossible to the boy in the song. Underneath all those minor chords, the man can now dream.”.
Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International-Ireland, said, “I was blown away when I first heard Silence. It is such a beautiful, poignant and powerful track. It speaks to the experience of many of us, those who grew up in an Ireland which didn’t seem to really value us. That was tough, hiding the best of ourselves, our capacity to love, forced instead to live a pretence, for fear of judgement and rejection. But hopefully that’s an Ireland we can consign to history on the 22nd of May when we have a chance to make history, to assert a republic of equals, one where we have no more ‘silent songbirds’.”
On March 22 Amnesty International Ireland launched ‘Let’s Make History’ – its campaign for a Yes vote in the Marriage Equality Referendum – with a large public rally outside the GPO on O’Connell Street in Dublin. The event saw mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, grandparents all pledging to vote YES in the upcoming referendum.

Kissing Terrorists

29/04/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Editorial: I was unaware of this advertising campaign by Paddy Power until Mr Young from the Belfast Telegraph rang me to ask for our thoughts/observations. I now reprint the article form the Belfast Telegraph:

Kissing terrorists advert for Republic of Ireland vote condemned

The controversial Paddy Power billboard

BY DAVID YOUNG – 28 APRIL 2015
Gay rights campaigners last night condemned as “tasteless and irrelevant” a billboard portraying two IRA terrorists in balaclavas kissing and cuddling.
Positioned for maximum shock value outside the GPO in O’Connell Street – the headquarters of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising – the giant Paddy Power billboard features two well-dressed men in balaclavas kissing beside the IRA slogan ‘Tiocfaidh Ar La’.
The bookmaker is offering odds for a yes (1/10) and no (5/1) vote in the Republic’s upcoming referendum on same-sex marriage.
Terry McFarlane, a spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Gay Rights Association (NIGRA), hit out at the advertising display.
“This advert is tasteless, irrelevant and unwise,” he said.
“The most offensive thing about it is that it portrays gay men as terrorists.
“I don’t know who they’re trying to appeal to – or what point they’re trying to make.”
A press release for bookmakers Paddy Power said: “Our latest betting on the referendum makes it look rosy in the garden for the YES camp – but don’t be surprised if the NO vote comes from behind to give us all a surprise.”
The NIGRA spokesperson also slammed some MLAs for not taking part in yesterday’s gay marriage vote at Stormont.
Several SDLP and Alliance Party MLAs did not appear to support their parties’ policies in favour of gay marriage.
At 47 in favour and 49 against, yesterday’s vote was very close, he said.
Had the missing MLAs voted with their parties, there would have been a majority of MLAs in favour of gay marriage.
While the DUP’s Petition of Concern would still have prevented the motion from being implemented, Mr McFarlane felt that a majority vote in favour of gay marriage would have sent out a strong signal that it was only a matter of time before gay marriage would be made legal in Northern Ireland.
“But unfortunately once again we are out of step with the rest of the UK,” he said.

American Chuck Feeney the key backer for gay marriage in Ireland

28/04/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Reprinted from Irish Central – James O’Shea @irishcentral April 20,2015 01:47 AM

Irish American philanthropist and billionaire Chuck Feeney is the key funder of themarriage equality drive in Ireland which will come to a head with a referendum on the right to marry for same sex couples on May 22.
Current polling points to a convincing victory for the same sex marriage side, but experts warn Irish referendums can be decided very late and voters swing wildly.
Feeney’s Atlantic Philanthropies have committed $475,000 to Marriage Equality Ltd the main group dealing specifically with the issue.
Feeney, the New Jersey-born billionaire, is giving away all of his money, an estimated $7.5 billion, through Atlantic.
A proud Irish American Feeney earmarked over $1 billion of that to be spent on educational, human rights and other projects in ireland. He also played a major role in bedding down the Irish peace process in Northern Ireland.
In addition to funding Marriage Equality, Atlantic has funded the main LGBT lobbying group, the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN), to the tune of $2.5 million over the past few years.
Atlantic and Feeney identified equality in marriage as one of the key human rights issue they wished to focus on. Their funding helped pass the civil partnership act of 2010. On its website and in a video Atlantic cites other major advances including:
– Secured public referendum on civil marriage, which is scheduled for 2015
– Government creation of a Gender Recognition Advisory Group, the role of which is to make recommendations on how to proceed toward legal frameworks for gender recognition for transgender people
– Secured numerous significant changes in public policy and services to better reflect the needs of LGBT people in areas such as mental healthcare provision and bullying in the education system
– Increased capacities of the LGBT sector

Feeney, 82, a New Jersey native now resident in California, made his money as co-founder of DFS, the largest duty free empire in the world
The working class Irish kid from Elizabeth, NJ has surpassed the Rockefellers and Andrew Carnegie when it comes to charitable giving.
He invented “giving while living,” which is now all the rage. His example directly inspired Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to give it all away too.
One of his most important legacies is that he has convinced so many powerful people there are “no pockets in a shroud” and helping in the here and now is preferable to dribs and drabs over decades.
“Chuck has been an inspiration to both of us for many years and was living the Giving Pledge long before we launched this project,” Bill and Melinda Gates said recently.
“He’s a true innovator and example to anyone who seeks to make the world a better place,” Buffett said.

Even Kids Are Saying Yes To Gay Marriage in Ireland

24/04/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

By The Gay UK, Apr 21 2015 06:54PM

The folks behind the “YES” Campaign in Ireland’s Referendum for Marriage Equality are doing such an amazing job.

Hot on the trail of the Video we shared with you the other day comes another wee heartwarming film about what children think of it all. If this doesn’t move those voters who are still sitting on the fence on the issue, then nothing will.

Forget the SNP, the DUP Tory coalition is the one you should worry about

24/04/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Editorial: Be careful who you vote for! And remember if you are entitled to vote, you must vote. Don’t waste the opportunity and allow politicians to get an easy ride over LGBT matters!

Reprinted from the Mirror – 16:54, 23 April 2015 By Federica Cocco

The DUP might end up in government with the Tory party – 10 reasons we should be afraid

Photopress Belfast
The Tories have been jumping up and down about the possibility of the SNP ending up in a coalition with Labour, but they have been strangely silent on Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) potentially holding the balance of power.
But if the Tories win a sufficient number of seats, DUP MPs may be pivotal in forming government, as their leader Peter Robinson said yesterday.
A 12% chance the DUP will end up in government
That’s according to an analysis by the Financial Times.
They currently hold eight seats and are expected to win between eight and ten seats. Not a lot; but it’s more than UKIP are predicted to get (four or five). And given that the race is so close, the DUP could easily play kingmaker.
Conservative MP Mel Stride blew a straw in the wind when he wrote on Conservativehome.com: “an alliance of sorts [with the DUP] could offer those vital additional seats that might make all the difference to our prospects for continuing to govern.”
Last year David Cameron hosted “a lavish reception” in Downing Street in their honour.
So what will the DUP be bringing to the negotiating table?

1. They want to legalise discrimination against LGBT people

Paul Givan – DUP member of the Northern Ireland Assembly – has drafted a private member’s bill which would allow business to deny services to any LGBT people on the grounds of religion.
It’s been put for consultation but the party hasn’t “laid” it yet, which means they are yet to submit it to be scheduled for discussion in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
If this becomes law, gay people in Northern Ireland could be refused simple, basic services like booking a table in a restaurant, renting a room for a night or even buying food.
The Rainbow Project said that what is known as the conscience clause would “create a licence to discriminate” against gay people.
And just in case you think this is just one man’s crusade, bear in mind the DUP leader Peter Robinson backs the bill.
We asked the DUP about the bill and they confirmed that “the party supports the broad proposal”.
A DUP spokesperson told us Givan’s consultation document was intended to “start a discussion” but no firm proposals are on the table yet.

2. Homophobia is deep-rooted within the party

In 1977 Rev. Ian Paisley – founder of the DUP – launched campaign “Save Ulster from Sodomy” to lobby against the decriminalisation of homosexuality.
His son Ian Paisley Jr has inherited his father’s values. In 2007 he said he was “repulsed” by homosexuals. On Question Time last year he defended the comments, adding “Christians are scared off about expressing this sort of view.”
In 2008 Unionist politician Iris Robinson was investigated for hate crime after saying homosexuality was disgusting, loathsome, nauseating, wicked and vile. No charges were brought.
She also stated in Parliament that homosexuality is “viler” than child sex abuse. That was when she served as the party’s spokeswoman for health.
She believes gay people “can be turned around” through counselling and therapy.

3. They don’t exactly champion women’s rights

In fact they actively thwart them.
Abortion is notoriously still illegal in Northern Ireland and unlike other parts of the UK it’s governed by criminal law, i.e. the Offences against the Person Act and the 1945 Criminal Justice Act.
It’s not allowed after rape or incest or in case of fatal foetus abnormality; and doctors can only terminate pregnancies to save a woman’s life or to avoid permanent and serious damage to her health.
When in 2012 a Marie Stopes abortion clinic opened in Belfast, the DUP voted in favour of closing it.
They sunk and still “oppose a Northern Ireland Bill of Rights” which would have extended access to the procedure to Northern Ireland but the DUP resolutely opposes it.

DUP/Flickr
In 2013 a total of 802 women came from Northern Ireland to terminate their pregnancies.

4. They think schools should teach creationism

Paul Givan, once again.
The politician – who believes in creationism – put forward a motion in the Assembly calling for schools in Lisburn to teach alternatives to the theory of evolution.

5. They oppose gay marriage

In the last legislation, the DUP blocked the gay marriage bill from passing in Northern Ireland THREE TIMES. Civil partnerships are legal in Northern Ireland, but that law was passed before the DUP came into power.

6. They want to ban begging

Their 2011 manifesto pledged to “rigorously enforce legislation against begging.”
7. They hate the BBC
Their manifesto calls for a freeze in the BBC licence fee to be followed by either its significant reduction or abolition.

8. They support the death penalty

In 2011 a group of DUP MPs tabled a motion to discuss the death penalty at the House of Commons.
Who’s to say that giving them a place in government wouldn’t lend legitimacy to their policy ideas?
If UKIP also ends up being part of a Tory-lead coalition, the death penalty will most likely be brought up again in Parliament.

9. They could become besties with UKIP

They have some policies in common with Nigel Farage’s party, most notably the fact that holding a referendum on European Union membership is a red line condition for any coalition agreement.
But they’re also dead set on increasing defence spending to 2% of GDP, and some senior members – such as the former Environment Minister – have called man-made climate change “a con”. He won’t have any trouble bonding with the likes of Roger Helmer or Paul Nuttall.

10. In fact they will probably win more MPs than UKIP

While UKIP is only expected to get between one and five seats, the DUP will definitely secure at least seven or eight.
Without the shadow of a doubt, in the event of a Tory-led Coalition or minority government David Cameron’s party will need the DUP’s votes to hold the government together.
The Tories have made no secret of this and have already begun wooing senior DUP politicians.
Any Government with the DUP will need to acquiesce to at least some of its deeply-held convictions.
Michael Fallon called the SNP’s manifesto “the most expensive ransom note in history”, but the DUP’s wishlist is no joke either.
Voters should be aware of what they’re in for.
[Sources: Pink News, Open Democracy, Conservative Home, FT]

Who would you rather ended up in government?

Why not write and let us know!

Alliance promises ‘real’ reforms for Northern Ireland

18/04/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Long says party not going to Westminster with ‘a gun or a begging bowl’

East Belfast MP Naomi Long addresses those gathered for the Alliance Party’s general election manifesto launch yesterday

Reprinted from Belfast Telegraph: BY LESLEY-ANNE MCKEOWN – 17 APRIL 2015
The Alliance Party will not go to Westminster with a gun or a begging bowl, its only outgoing MP has claimed.
Naomi Long said if the party were successful in next month’s general election, it would take real “plans” for reform in Northern Ireland.
She said: “We are not going to Westminster to hold a gun to people’s heads and threaten chaos if we don’t get our way.
“Neither are we going to Westminster with a begging bowl constantly asking for more.
“We are going to Westminster with plans for reform to change Northern Ireland.”
Ms Long was speaking at the Alliance Party’s manifesto launch in the Metropolitan Arts Centre (Mac) in Belfast city centre yesterday.
The Alliance Party deputy leader is facing one of the toughest electoral battles against the agreed unionist candidate – Gavin Robinson of the DUP – for East Belfast. In 2010, she produced one the biggest shocks of the campaign, ousting long-standing DUP leader and First Minister Peter Robinson.
The Alliance manifesto includes a pledge to reduce or abolish air passenger duty to improve air connectivity between Northern Ireland, the UK and the rest of Europe.
It also promises to improve the rights of the LGBT community and aims to bring the region into line with the rest of the UK by lifting the ban on gay and unmarried couples adopting and the ban on gay men donating blood.
There is further support for a “mansion tax”, provided a mechanism is developed which would allow the asset-rich but cash-poor to defer payment.
Ms Long said the 32-page document would not be allowed to gather dust or be discarded in a recycling bin but would be used to guide politicians for crucial votes. “It will be, as our last one was, a living, breathing, working document that will guide how we deliver on that vision of the way forward,” she added.
In the event of a hung parliament, the Alliance Party would be guided by policy and values, Ms Long said.
The Alliance Party is fielding candidates in all 18 constituencies.
Leader David Ford said he did not expect success in all constituencies but said the party was compelled to offer voters a choice.
“Of course it is the case that we are not expecting to win in a number of those constituencies,” he said.
“We are merely putting our view forward.”

Irish artist plasters gay lovers on Dublin building to support country’s marriage equality referendum

13/04/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

BY NICOLE HENSLEY NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Sunday, April 12, 2015, 9:40 PM A A A
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PreviousNext* North and South America Rights Only * Irish artist Joe Caslin and a crew installed the mural overnight Sunday on a busy street in Dublin as a message for Ireland’s upcoming marriage equality referendum. Enlarge
An image of two men embracing, plastered on the side of a Dublin building, is the work of an Irish artist one month before Ireland puts marriage equality to a vote.
The touching black and white homage takes up at least four stories in Dublin as a “poignant representation of same sex love in the city,” its artist, Joe Caslin, told the Journal.
Its new presence has couples flocking to the busy street below for selfies.
The country’s marriage equality referendum is the only one of its kind in the world. It asks voters to decide whether same-sex couples can marry.
While the same-sex marriage battle in the U.S. will rely on the Supreme Court’s decision in late June, Ireland’s case will be decided by voters on May 22.
The Irish referendum would add a clause to the country’s constitution that allows marriage to be contracted by two people “without distinction as to their sex.”
Caslin’s work, reportedly inspired by a 1864 painting “The Meeting on the Turret Stairs,” went up overnight Sunday with a crew working in the rain.
He expects additional urban LGBT art to pop up around the country’s capital including a mural paying tribute to a lesbian relationship.

Marriage Equality and Yes Vote!

13/03/2015 By David McFarlane Leave a Comment

Reprinted from the Outmost – Posted by Emma Hyland – 13/03/2015

SENATOR COGHLAN REVEALS STRUGGLE WITH ACCEPTING SON’S SEXUALITY

FINE GAEL SENATOR EAMONN COGHLAN HAS CALLED FOR A YES VOTE IN THE UPCOMING MARRIAGE REFERENDUM AND REVEALED HIS OWN STRUGGLE IN COMING TO TERMS WITH HIS SON’S SEXUALITY.

Appearing at a Fine Gael LGBT public meeting last night, the former Olympic runner spoke about the difficulties his son Michael faced as a result of being gay.
“When I discovered my son Michael was gay I was devastated. I cried for weeks. The hopes and dreams I had for my son were shattered. I felt guilty, almost as if I was to blame for him being gay,” Coghlan told the audience in Portlaoise.
“I tried to cover up my disappointment. While I hugged him, told him I loved him, I had to come to terms that, it was not about me but about him and his life ahead.
Coghlan spoke about how meeting his son’s friends – some of whom are gay – made him open his eyes. “I got to know them and see how happy he was with his mates. Michael is a grown man now, but he suffered awful bullying in school.”

Coghlan told the audience that his son suffered from anxiety in school, and was often subject to bullying by classmates. “At the time, we didn’t know why this was happening but after he came out it became apparent that it was because he was gay.
“The abuse didn’t stop after he came out. He was subject to two particularly violent physical attacks in Dublin on account of his being gay.”

Coghlan delivered a powerful endorsement of the referendum on May 22, saying, “I was lucky enough to marry the woman of my dreams. Who are we as a nation to deny our sons and daughters the basic right of marrying the person they love?
“It is about equality, removing rejection, removing exclusion, removing the guilt, shame and fear that gay people experience. We have to think of the person, their dignity, their validation, their human freedom to love and to live life to the full.”

Screenwriter Believes Marriage Equality Possible In Ireland

12/03/2015 By David McFarlane Leave a Comment

Tom Daley, Boyfriend Dustin Lance Black Out In Dublin; Screenwriter Believes Marriage Equality Possible In Ireland

Reprinted from kpopstarz By Chill Harrison | March 07, 2015 07:30 PM

(Photo : Tim P. Whitby / Getty Images Entertainment)

Dustin Lance Black was honored with the “honorary life membership” by the UCD Law Society and he brought along boyfriend Tom Daley with him for the occasion. Meanwhile, the screenwriter is optimistic that Ireland will eventually go along with same-sex marriage.

According to Entertainment.ie, Dustin Lance Black also spoke about his advocacy on the rights of the LGBT and the importance of storytelling at the University College

Dublin.

“Black certainly left his mark on those in attendance if the audience’s reaction is anything to go by,” it said.
Meanwhile, Speaking to Newstalk, the Irish news radio, Dustin Lance Black believes that same-sex marriage would be accepted in Catholic Ireland.
“I believe that marriage equality will be the law of the land in Ireland by the end of May and I think it’s a beautiful thing. It says something really wonderful about the Irish people,” said Dustin Lance Black.
More than people of the same sexual orientation getting married, fostering the rights of minority groups is the very essence of democracy.
“I think it’s the cornerstone of a democracy to protect the minority from the tyranny of a majority,” Dustin Lance Black said.
But Tom Daley’s boyfriend understands that it’s not going to be easy based on his own experience.
“My journey with my Mom, my family… it wasn’t all good all the time. My Mom didn’t understand right away. There was a period there of a lot of heartbreak and certainly with a lot of my extended family,” he said.
“Keep the avenues of communication open, keep talking about it because it’s about misinformation, that’s where homophobia comes from,” Dustin Lance Black added.
Dustin Lance Black’s boyfriend Tom Daley is actually considered as one of UK’s most influentialgay people.
According to Plymouth Herald, Dustin Lance Black’s boyfriend Tom Daley is a new entry at the 15th place on the Rainbow List by The Independent.
“Number one on the list is Labour Party activist and former EastEnders actor Michael Cashman,” the publication said. “The top of the list also features Newsnight presenter Evan Davies, Bake Off presenter Sue Perkins and musician Sam Smith.”