July 1st, 2010. A momentous day for Ireland, and one that will be remembered in history for a long time to come. Not as momentous as July 7th, 1993 perhaps, but astonishing that we’ve reached this point just 17 years after Mary Robinson signed into law the decriminalisation of homosexuality.
Today, July 1st, 2010, Dáil Éireann will pass the Civil Partnership Bill 2009. Once it gets through the Seanad (which will happen, though I suspect it’ll get ugly), same-sex couples will be recognised by the state at last. It’s not marriage, but it’s certainly progress.
I have a long history with this issue, and one I’m particularly proud of. The Labour Party introduced the Civil Unions Bill in 2006. In the few months leading up to that, I was a member of the Labour LGBT executive which decided they were in support of such legislation, and I played a small role in bringing LGBT groups in to discuss the draft legislation with the Labour Party legal advisor, and with Brendan Howlin – the sponsor of the Bill. My role was not enormous – I did not draft the legislation, nor was I centrally involved in persuading Brendan Howlin to work on this area – he took that initiative all by himself. Nevertheless, it is one of my times in politics that I am most proud of, and it was certainly one of the first times that I became aware that Ireland could be made a better place by the actions of a very small number of people.
It’s been a few years since that flurry of activity. In the meantime, the Labour Party have reintroduced our bill twice, only for it to be voted down by the Government. I’ve been involved with both Dublin Pride and the NLGF – both of which have taken staunchly pro-marriage, anti-partnership positions. And yet, I’ve still waited and waited for this day, conscious of the breakthrough which it will come to represent.
I should probably provide some context for my own views. Theoretically, academically, I am opposed to the institution of marriage, and indeed to derivatives of that institution such as Civil Partnerships. It is a patriarchal institution which has been used to subjugate women for hundreds of years. And regardless of the growth of civil marriage, it remains an institution derived from a sacrament in which I do not believe. I believe society should seek to move beyond marriage – to dismantle the rights and responsibilities of that institution, and to recognise that increasing numbers of relationships do not fit within the model of the nuclear family. Some relationships last for a long time, and some do not. Some relationships consist of two people, and some do not. Some relationships involve children, and some do not. And some relationships involve sex, and some do not. One model will never work for all these different types of relationships, and we should consider how rights and responsibilities could be accumulated within relationships as they evolve, rather than being dependent on one ceremony. Theoretically, academically, these are my views.
Emotionally however, I sit in a very different space. As I am yet again experiencing, new romance in my life fills me with emotional possibilities, and the attractions of monogamous, long-term relationships begin to appeal to me once more. But as well as hope such as this, it angers me that society views the relationships of my friends as less than the relationship of my parents. I want queers who want to marry to be allowed to marry. And beyond that, I want them to feel safe walking down the street holding hands. Or to raise their children without judgement.
And so I’m conflicted. I want to make the radical argument against the institution of marriage. But I want the loving relationships I see all around me to receive the respect they deserve. And that can only happen when society embraces empowering structural change.
Tonight will see our society, through the democratically elected representatives of the people, embrace exactly that type of structural change. If Fine Gael come onside, it is possible that as in 1993, all members of Dáil Éireann will come together to take a stand for progress. The Green Party deserve enormous credit. Enormous credit. As the Labour Party were responsible for pushing Máire Geoghegan-Quinn to decrimilaise homosexuality, so the Green Party have taken this fight and forced Fianna Fáil to accept it. Their role should not be undermined, and it will certainly not be forgotten.
In six months time, same-sex couples will be having Civil Partnership ceremonies to rival the most gaudy wedding. Their engagements will become commonplace in the Irish Times. And most of all, society will have shifted to recognising same-sex relationships instead of ignoring them. The campaign for access to civil marriage for same-sex couples will continue, and that’s a good thing. The campaign for same-sex couples to be treated equally in relationship to adoption will certainly gather pace. And some of us will continue to make our arguments for a different way of recognising love. But we’ll all be doing it from a better, more equal starting point.
That’s progress, and it’s been a privilege playing a tiny part in it.
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Great piece but I have one issue with it, Dublin LGBTQ Pride has not taken a ‘ staunchly pro-marriage, anti-partnership position’ we’ve welcomed the bill and acknowledged that it does not go far enough and neglects LGBTQ families in particular.
We’re happy with more rights, but in the long term we want equality!
We did in my time honey
There’s a new chief in town now! :-p
To be fair, the positions of both Pride and the NLGF are a little more nuanced than I stated, but I didn’t really want to get bogged down in that tangent.
Continuing the Discussion