Tag Archives: Northern Ireland

BELFAST: Thousands March For Marriage [VIDEO]

The Belfast Telegraph reports: Thousands of people have joined a major parade through Belfast city centre demanding same-sex marriage rights. The demonstration on Saturday afternoon concluded with a rally in front of City Hall. The ban on equal marriage in Northern Ireland is one of several sticking points delaying the formation of a new powersharing government at Stormont. It is …

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NORTHERN IRELAND: Game Of Thrones Star Kristian Nairn May Enter Politics To Fight For Marriage Equality

The Belfast Telegraph reports: Game of Thrones star Kristian Nairn could swap the stage for the political arena after becoming frustrated with the lack of progress on equality issues such as same-sex marriage. The 6ft 10in actor, DJ and entrepreneur from Lisburn, who is gay, has been nominated for MTV’s Tearjerker award after his character Hodor’s iconic death scene in …

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NORTHERN IRELAND: Renewed Hope For Same-Sex Marriage As Conservative Party Loses Power To Block

The Belfast Telegraph reports: The DUP has lost the power to trigger a controversial Stormont veto mechanism that blocked the introduction of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland. Tabling a “petition of concern” means a proposal before the Assembly can only be carried with the support of a majority of both nationalist and unionist members, rather than a straight head count. …

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NORTHERN IRELAND: Anti-Gay Christian Bakers Lose Bid To Take Appeal To Supreme Court

The Guardian reports: Northern Ireland’s attorney general cannot refer back to the supreme court the case of a local bakery fined for refusing to bake a gay-themed cake. John Larkin QC’s legal bid to get the supreme court to review court rulings against Ashers Bakery was deemed to have come in too late, Northern Ireland’s lord chief justice said on …

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NORTHERN IRELAND: Activists Ask Santa For Equality As Poll Shows 70% Support For Same-Sex Marriage

The Belfast Telegraph reports: The Northern Ireland public would vote overwhelmingly in favour of same-sex marriage, the latest Lucid Talk tracker poll has found. The Northern Ireland polling company runs regular online tracker polls on topical issues to register changes, trends and opinions. For a period of 60 hours between November 30 and December 2, 1,536 people responded to the …

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BRITAIN: House Of Lords Extends Pardons For Archaic Sodomy Laws To Gay/Bi Men In Northern Ireland

The Guardian reports: An amnesty for gay and bisexual men convicted of consensual sex with people of the same sex has been extended to Northern Ireland. Until Wednesday, the region was excluded from legislation that posthumously pardons men convicted of sexual offences that are no longer illegal and allows the living to apply to have convictions overturned. The legislation did …

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NORTHERN IRELAND: Party Leader Vows To Block Marriage Equality For Five Years Over Online Abuse

The BBC reports: Arlene Foster is “childish” and “disingenuous” for saying online abuse is partly why the DUP is unlikely to change its view on same-sex marriage, Alliance leader Naomi Long has said. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where gay marriage is not legal. Mrs Foster said the DUP would use a petition of concern to …

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NORTHERN IRELAND: Anti-Gay Bakers Lose Appeal

The BBC reports: The Christian owners of a Northern Ireland bakery have lost their appeal against a ruling that their refusal to make a “gay cake” was discriminatory. Appeal court judges said that, under law, the bakers were not allowed to provide a service only to people who agreed with their religious beliefs. Two years ago, the family-run firm refused …

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Brexit Fallout: Sinn Fein Calls For United Ireland Vote

The Irish Journal reports: The UK’s decision to leave the EU means Sinn Féin will press for a border vote in the North. Both Northern Ireland and Scotland voted to remain in the EU, but the leave campaign was able to convince Wales and England to leave the union. “We have a situation where the north is going to be …

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NORTHERN IRELAND: Anti-Gay Bakers Begin Appeal

The Irish Times reports: Christian bakers found guilty of discrimination for refusing to make a cake with a pro-gay marriage slogan could not commit a sin by going against their deeply held consciences, their lawyer has told an appeal hearing. The McArthur family, who run Ashers Baking Company in Belfast, are seeking to overturn a judgment which found they acted …

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NORTHERN IRELAND: Belfast Court To Issue Ruling On Same-Sex Marriage Lawsuit “After Christmas”

The BBC reports: Judgement in a landmark legal case challenging Northern Ireland’s ban on same-sex marriage will be delivered after Christmas. The case has been taken by two same-sex couples who were the first people in the UK to enter civil partnerships in 2005. Their lawyer claimed they are suffering state discrimination as a result of the ban. Judgement was …

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TRAILER: The Queen Of Ireland

Today’s news out of Ireland reminded to tell you that the Panti Bliss documentary, The Queen Of Ireland, which is now playing there, will open on Friday in Northern Ireland, where a gay couple married in England yesterday filed suit over their “devalued” relationship status, which became a mere civil partnership once they crossed the border to return home. The …

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NORTHERN IRELAND: Assembly Approves Same-Sex Marriage But Motion Is Blocked By Unionists

The Northern Ireland Assembly approved same-sex marriage this morning with a very slim majority vote, but the motion failed due to a “petition of concern” presented by the Democratic Unionists Party. The bill was opposed in an open letter issued by the Irish Catholic Bishops Conference. An excerpt: We wish to express our particular concern that the motion presented provides …

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LIVE VIDEO: Northern Ireland Assembly Debates Same-Sex Marriage Bill For Fifth Time

Northern Ireland’s Assembly convenes at noon local time (7AM Eastern) to consider a same-sex marriage bill for the fifth time since the 2011 election. Watch live here. The Belfast Telegraph reports: When gay marriage was last voted on in June there was only a two-vote difference overall, with the motion defeated by just 49 votes to 47. Last night there …

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NORTHERN IRELAND: Assembly To Vote On Same-Sex Marriage For Fifth Time In Five Years

Northern Ireland’s Assembly has rejected same-sex marriage four times since the 2011 election. Sometime in the coming weeks they will vote yet again. Pink News reports: Sinn Féin has uged all SDLP members to support a measure to legalise same-sex marriage. Northern Ireland has been criticised for being the only major territory in the UK not to have equal marriage …

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NORTHERN IRELAND: Challenge To Same-Sex Marriage Ban To Be Heard In December

Northern Ireland’s Rainbow Project this morning announced on Facebook that their clients’ same-sex marriage ban challenge will be heard on December 3rd. According to a poll released in July, 68% of the Northern Irish public now supports same-sex marriage, an even greater number than the 62% that voted “yes” in Ireland’s national referendum. The highest support comes from Catholics, 75% …

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TRAILER: Ireland’s Young Warriors

Clip recap: Earlier this year, VICE News filmed with a republican youth movement in Ireland called Na Fianna Éireann (“Warriors of Ireland” in English), a small group of around 30 boys considered to be hardline dissidents. They support a violent IRA splinter group known as the Continuity IRA, and believe that a renewed armed struggle is needed to free Ireland …

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NORTHERN IRELAND: Same-Sex Marriage Ban To Be Challenged In Court

Via the Belfast Telegraph: The first two gay couples to enter into civil partnerships in the UK will this week mount a High Court challenge to Northern Ireland’s same-sex marriage ban, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal. Grainne Close and Shannon Sickles will be joined by Chris and Henry Flanagan-Kane to seek a judicial review of the ban. Both couples cemented …

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BELFAST: 20,000 March For Marriage

An estimated crowd of 20,000 marched on Belfast City Hall today to demand same-sex marriage. Via the Guardian: Northern Ireland has been left behind in the struggle for gay equality, the Irish trade union movement said on Saturday, as thousands marched in Belfast to call for the recognition of same-sex marriage. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) pointed out …

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Patrick Stewart Clarifies Remarks On Northern Ireland’s Anti-Gay Bakery

“As part of my advocacy for Amnesty International, I gave an interview on a number of subjects related to human rights, civil rights and freedom of speech. During the interview, I was asked about the Irish bakers who refused to put a message on a cake which supported marriage equality, because of their beliefs. In my view, this particular matter …

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