• Same-sex marriage in NI 'a matter of time' - Varadkar
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[URL="https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2017/0805/895425-belfast-pride/"]RTE News:[/URL] [QUOTE]Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he believes it is only a matter of time before same-sex marriage is introduced in Northern Ireland. He was speaking at a Pride event in Belfast as the city gears up for the main Pride march later today. Mr Varadkar said he was attending the event as a gesture of solidarity. "I am not here to unsettle anyone, but I am here to show my support and the support of my Government for equality before the law for all citizens no matter where they reside," he told journalists on his way in to the event. Campaigners have stepped up their calls for Northern Ireland to overturn the restriction against same-sex marriage. Mr Varadkar said: "It is of course a decision for the Northern Ireland Assembly, but I am confident that like other western European countries they will make that decision in due course." PSNI and Garda officers also joined Mr Varadkar at the event, arriving in a PSNI Land Rover. For the first time uniformed officers will march in the Pride parade through the city centre. Assistant Chief Constable Barbara Gray said the PSNI's participation in the breakfast and parade "is about inclusion and representation". "We represent all sections of society. Members of the LGBT community are a marginalised community in Northern Ireland," she said. She added that the PSNI's presence at the events might encourage victims of hate crime to come forward and report them. Sinn Féin's leader in Stormont Michelle O'Neill also attended this morning's event at the Northern Whig Pub in the city centre. Same-sex marriage has been one of the sticking points preventing the return of a devolved power-sharing administration at Stormont, with Sinn Féin demanding the Democratic Unionists stop blocking changes to the law. The DUP has used a controversial Stormont voting mechanism to prevent the legalisation of same-sex marriage, despite most Assembly members supporting the move at the last vote. The DUP rejects any suggestion it is homophobic, insisting it is protecting the "traditional" definition of marriage, and has called for tolerance of what are increasingly minority views. It does not have enough members in the new Assembly to veto an equal marriage vote on its own, but there is no immediate prospect of the deeply divided administration being restored. Mr Varadkar is not attending the Pride march as he is due to return to Dublin for the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-final clash between Dublin and Monaghan in Croke Park. A total of 8,000 people are expected to march from Custom House Square in the city centre and an estimated 15,000 additional supporters are anticipated, the Parades Commission, which rules on marches, said. Sixty bands are due to take part. A rainbow Pride flag has been raised at a government building at Stormont for the first time.[/QUOTE] [URL="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-40833700"]BBC News:[/URL] [QUOTE]Leo Varadkar has said it is "only a matter of time" before same-sex marriage is introduced in Northern Ireland. The Irish Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) was speaking at a Belfast Pride breakfast event in the city on Saturday morning. The Republic of Ireland's first openly gay leader, said he was attending the event as a "gesture of solidarity". Northern Ireland is the only place in the UK where a ban on same-sex marriage still exists. In 2015, the Republic of Ireland voted to legalise same-sex marriage in a referendum. Mr Varadkar told crowds outside the Northern Whig in Belfast that he was not "here to unsettle anyone". "But I am here to state my support and my government's support for equality before the law and individual freedom for all citizens wherever they may reside," he said. The taoiseach (Irish prime minister) added: "Difference makes us stronger and that's something I believe in and something that I think can mark Northern Ireland out in the future. "I totally appreciate that this it is an issue for the Northern Ireland Assembly, but we need an assembly up and running." Mr Varadkar said he had given his opinion on the issue to former first minister, Arlene Foster. Thousands of people are expected to attend the Belfast Pride parade on Saturday afternoon, although Mr Vardakar has said he was not able to attend the main event because he had a prior commitment.[/QUOTE] He is completely correct. Gay marriage must come to Northern Ireland.
Why is this a regional thing? Should this ideally not be a law of the "United" Kingdom?
[QUOTE=Silikone;52542384]Why is this a regional thing? Should this ideally not be a law of the "United" Kingdom?[/QUOTE] Because each area of the United Kingdom has its own devolved laws and parliaments. Now, here's the awful bit: by one vote the Northern Ireland Assembly, Stormonet, did vote to have marriage equality. However, the DUP, who are homophobic [I](YOU CAN'T ARGUE THIS: BEING AGAINST MARRIAGE EQUALITY IS BY DEFAULT HOMOPHOBIC)[/I], voted for what's called a "petition of concern" to block it. A petition of concern in NI politics is something that, with enough votes, can be used to block or stop an new law coming in. The intention was to protect either main community - the Nationalists and the Unionists - from the other inacting something discriminatory, since NI has had a huge amount of problems with discrimination that I won't go into here. But gay marriage is very much in the majority and the majority of unionists support it. The DUP only blocked it because they are homophobic.
[QUOTE=BlackMageMari;52542409]Because each area of the United Kingdom has its own devolved laws and parliaments. Now, here's the awful bit: by one vote the Northern Ireland Assembly, Stormonet, did vote to have marriage equality. However, the DUP, who are homophobic [I](YOU CAN'T ARGUE THIS: BEING AGAINST MARRIAGE EQUALITY IS BY DEFAULT HOMOPHOBIC)[/I], voted for what's called a "petition of concern" to block it. A petition of concern in NI politics is something that, with enough votes, can be used to block or stop an new law coming in. The intention was to protect either main community - the Nationalists and the Unionists - from the other inacting something discriminatory, since NI has had a huge amount of problems with discrimination that I won't go into here. But gay marriage is very much in the majority and the majority of unionists support it. The DUP only blocked it because they are homophobic.[/QUOTE] I support gay marriage massively and I think anyone against has some extremely outdated values, but please never say "YOU CANT ARGUE THIS!" with anything. People can and should be able to argue whatever they want. I'd say a lot of people who oppose gay marriage are homophobic, but not everyone who opposes gay marriage is literally afraid of gay people, most are just indoctrinated by silly religious values; whether or not that makes them outright 'afraid' of gay people is a different story. I'd say more anger than fear, honestly, but both are unwarranted.
[QUOTE=kharkovus;52542584]I support gay marriage massively and I think anyone against has some extremely outdated values, but please never say "YOU CANT ARGUE THIS!" with anything. People can and should be able to argue whatever they want. I'd say a lot of people who oppose gay marriage are homophobic, but not everyone who opposes gay marriage is literally afraid of gay people, most are just indoctrinated by silly religious values; whether or not that makes them outright 'afraid' of gay people is a different story. I'd say more anger than fear, honestly, but both are unwarranted.[/QUOTE] I know its pretty extreme but I'm getting quite sick of equality being denied and then people saying "oh its totes not homophobic" when they have literally no logical reason. Maybe the term anti-gay would be better?
[QUOTE=BlackMageMari;52542601]I know its pretty extreme but I'm getting quite sick of equality being denied and then people saying "oh its totes not homophobic" when they have literally no logical reason. Maybe the term anti-gay would be better?[/QUOTE] Yeah honestly it would, because that's closer to the truth, and probably what they'll still be denying even though that's obviously what they are, just in the thin, silly guise of 'marriage should be between a man and a woman'.
There was fantastic support in Belfast today around same sex marriage. I knew there would be a lot of support but it still blew me away. I completely agree with the statement that it's only a matter of time.
[quote]Yeah honestly it would, because that's closer to the truth[/quote] So... rather than hate it's fear? It's not that they fear gay couples - it's that they hate them? I mean what is 'anti' versus a sexual orientation? What is 'anti-heterosexuality' if it is neither fear nor hate? Disgust?
[QUOTE=Firgof Umbra;52543282]So... rather than hate it's fear? It's not that they fear gay couples - it's that they hate them? I mean what is 'anti' versus a sexual orientation? What is 'anti-heterosexuality' if it is neither fear nor hate? Disgust?[/QUOTE] It's anger and hatred more than fear, from what I've seen. Of course, the emotions are largely intertwined and the variance of the prevalence in each is different across individuals. Which is why I recommend anti-gay, because homophobic is too specific a descriptor (only fear) to accurately describe them. It's too much of a generalization since not every individual who is against the gays does so specifically out of the kind of fear we usually associate with 'phobias' ( e.g the kinds that people seek psychiatric help for irrational fears -- many anti-gay people certainly do fear homosexuals, but it's a much more cultural and emotionally varied thing than a 'I'm terrified of any dogs whenever I go near them" kindof irrational fear, so using the word 'phobia' just seems inaccurate to me since that's usually the context that's used in.) I figure understanding and correctly labeling even people I vehemently disagree with is worth figuring out since I try to understand and correctly label people I agree with, too. Sorry for the semantic argument -- I don't really hold a lot of stake in this or mean to come off as anti-gay myself.
[QUOTE=BlackMageMari;52542601]I know its pretty extreme but I'm getting quite sick of equality being denied and then people saying "oh its totes not homophobic" when they have literally no logical reason. Maybe the term anti-gay would be better?[/QUOTE] But then what's not homophobic about anything anti-gay? Just call it what it is
[QUOTE=MrJazzy;52543510]But then what's not homophobic about anything anti-gay? Just call it what it is[/QUOTE] Homophobia is the fear of gays. Most people aren't afraid, rather they hate. But the word is negative enough to create a reaction from them, so.
Homphobia means "fear/dislike/hatred of homosexuality/homosexual people", it's not restricted to just fear even though there's the word phobia in it. [editline]6th August 2017[/editline] Actual "fear of gays" doesn't really exist except in perhaps very odd religious communities
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