By Emma Regan
I write as straight woman, engaged to be married in one month’s time. I am in the privileged position of being allowed by the Irish State to marry the person I love. My partner and I get the wonderful, exciting and meaningful opportunity to declare our love publically, in front of friends and family and to join our lives together. I couldn’t be happier, but as I write I’m also aware of my privilege. Marriage shouldn’t be a privilege, but a human right. The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, Article 16, guarantees the right to marry, while Article 7 states that, ‘All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law’. This clearly suggests that every person should have the right to access civil marriage and enjoy the protection and security that comes along with it. To deny access to one group of people on the basis of their sexual orientation is ‘discrimination.’ One of the No side’s arguments against the Marriage Referendum is to compare marriage to civil partnership and declare that they’re basically the same and so this change is not necessary. However, despite sharing similarities, I would argue that marriage and civil partnerships are different on a fundamental level. In addition to the statutory differences, which you can read about here, marriage has a unique and important social meaning. I didn’t ask my boyfriend to civil partner me, I asked him to marry me. We are planning a wedding ceremony, and my vows will include the iconic words, ‘I, Emma Regan, take you, James Atkinson, to be my lawfully wedded husband...’ We all recognise these traditional, time honoured terms: marry, wedding, husband, wife, and associate them with a couple committing to spend the rest of their lives together in a State-recognised union. Civil partnership doesn’t have the same special meaning; it’s different, and we all know that even if it was legally equivalent (which it’s not), different but equal or separate but equal, is an extremely dodgy philosophy. What’s more, the love between two people of the same sex is no different to the love my partner and I share. It’s the Same Love. It’s the rush of affection when you wake up next to them, the feeling of just holding hands and supporting one another or the joy of being with someone truly loves you for who you are. That’s what love is and it doesn’t have a gender or a sexual orientation; it transcends our meagre attempts at categorisation. That’s what we’re voting on, on Friday, 22nd of May. We’re being asked to share the right to get married with couples who have been denied it and to recognise their love as equal to our own. Another argument put forward by the No side, which has shockingly gained acceptance by 82% of No voters according to an Irish Times poll published today, is ‘that it would diminish the importance of marriage’. I simply fail to see how allowing LGBTQ people to access the institution of marriage will have any effect on existing married people (unless one of them is transgender in which case it could allow that person the right to have their gender legally recognised without the need for forced divorce). Marriage is a personal union between two people. It shouldn’t involve looking over your shoulder, jealously guarding access to the registry office. St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians says, ‘Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.’ And now, I’m no expert on this since I’m not married yet, but I would hazard a guess that every marriage is different, just as every relationship is different. Someone else’s marriage cannot diminish your own because the substance of your marriage is your daily life together, the love you share and the strength of your relationship. These are entirely your own responsibility to protect and nurture. Some people say that the referendum will ‘redefine marriage,’ but this isn’t true. If we define marriage as a legally-recognised union of two people who love one another, then allowing same-sex couples to get married too doesn’t change anything. Remember it’s the same love. The happiest day of my life is drawing near, and in one month’s time I will be walking down the aisle, hand-in-hand with my partner, ready to commit to each other in our marriage ceremony. A Yes vote in the Marriage Referendum will grant all Irish couples in love their right do the same. It may not make any difference to you but it would make a world of difference to them. Please vote Yes on Friday, 22nd of May!
39 Comments
4/6/2015 11:49:43 pm
Book mark this website for free amazon gift card code generator these amazon gift cards are real and I like these amazon gift card codes because these amazon gift card codes give me discounts.
Reply
15/8/2015 11:44:29 pm
I am using amazon gift card codes because these codes are offering me big discounts. And I am using amazon code generator too and as much I need to shop I use them.
Reply
15/9/2016 02:01:58 am
This article looks to give clear information to its readers would be pleased very helpful , giving news offerings are unique and easy to understand
Reply
3/10/2018 03:33:44 am
if you are an airtel then please visit this website to check your airtel net balance
Reply
22/8/2015 04:27:11 pm
If any body like these minecraft online codes then inform me I am with all the minecraft tricks and cheats.
Reply
3/10/2018 03:37:14 am
if you are a vodafone user visit here to check your vodafone net balance here
Reply
18/10/2016 11:04:24 pm
I love all the posts, I really enjoyed, I would like more information about this, because it is very nice.
Reply
18/1/2017 11:10:54 pm
articles as a very nice and very useful for my admin thank you very much and sorry I have permission to share the article here
Reply
20/1/2017 08:05:18 pm
thank u so much admin and sorry permission share in here :)
Reply
23/1/2017 07:18:47 am
<a href="http://avirafreeantivirus2017download.com/">Avira Free Antivirus 2017 Download</a>
Reply
24/1/2017 08:23:12 pm
Great and nice things done by Irish Laws and marriage is one of the blessings.
Reply
24/1/2017 09:02:12 pm
Well done. I am amazed by you. Thank you for sharing your wedding experience.
Reply
24/1/2017 09:03:16 pm
The Irish Law encourages marriages really. I agree.
Reply
6/3/2017 10:48:04 pm
This is a wonderful article, So much info given in it, These type of articles keeps the users interest in the website, keep on sharing more... good luck <a href="">obat infeksi saluran kencing</a>
Reply
17/7/2017 11:08:39 pm
Thanks for the information, in tunggua keep the latest news
Reply
23/8/2017 08:41:16 pm
Thank u so much admin and sorry permission share in here
Reply
http://ansu.co.in
Reply
28/5/2021 11:13:11 am
Attractive portion of content. I simply stumbled upon your website and in accession capital to claim that I get in fact loved account your blog posts.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
We welcome submissions to the blog, subject to editorial review, please contact us if you're interested. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IFN.
Categories
All
Archives
July 2017
|