In the lead up to Cork Pride, Senator Laura Harmon reflects on campaigning for Marriage Equality in Ireland 10 years ago, and outlines what must come next.

On the evening of May 22, 2015, I rushed to the War Memorial Gardens in Dublin to catch the last of the sun setting – I remember that moment clearly, and I thought to myself: I hope this is the last time the sun sets on an Ireland without marriage equality. I had been home to vote earlier that day in Cork in my old primary school.

Looking back on the 10 years that have passed since the monumental Marriage Referendum in Ireland, I am proud of the way our country served as a trailblazer for LGBTQ+ rights, but I believe that not enough progress has been made since. Watching what has been happening in Hungary and the worrying UK Supreme Court ruling upholding a trans-exclusionary definition of ‘woman’ – it’s clear the fight for LGBTQ+ rights is far from over.

Before I became a senator, I was President of the Union of Students in Ireland (now AMLÉ) and led the Students for Marriage Equality ‘MakeGráTheLaw’ campaign. I was at the forefront of the youth movement for Yes; it was a historic period within the LGBTQ+ community, one filled with hope.

10 years on, we are still not where we should be as a country. For Ireland to live up to its reputation as a progressive nation in regards to LGBTQ+ rights, we must see the proper recognition of same-sex parents, vast improvements in trans healthcare and an expansion of hate crime laws, just to name a few.

Ireland became the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage through a popular vote. 10 years ago, 62% of the population voted Yes for marriage equality. In 2015, we paved the way, with other European countries following our lead.

Now we have to guard against any rollback of rights. We should be surpassing milestones like Marriage Equality, but have found ourselves at a standstill.

The state of transgender healthcare in this country is shameful, and myself and Labour have been calling on the government to improve access and quality of gender-affirming care. Ireland consistently ranks last in the EU for the provision of and access to trans healthcare, and this must change. Everyone should be able to access healthcare in their local communities in a timely manner.

The wider LGBTQ+ community needs our support at this time, too. Trans rights are human rights; we can’t fully celebrate the successes of Ireland’s advancements in LGBTQ+ rights until we all have equality.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Senator Laura Harmon (@lauraharmoncork)

I do believe that progressive change is possible because I have lived through it, taken part in it and seen it happen directly. The day same-sex marriage was legalised in Ireland was a turning point for me and many other people who grew up gay in this country. It would be a stain on this campaign and all that it achieved if we did not continue to fight for equality for all LGBTQ+ people. And after all, marriage itself is a conservative institution – but it is important that there is equal access to it.

We cannot become complacent when it comes to minority rights, LGBTQ+ rights and women’s rights. We need to ensure that the hard-won rights are not rolled back.

As a country, we made the Grá the Law by voting Yes for Marriage Equality, but we still live with a limited definition of family within same-sex relationships. More than half of children born into LGBTQ+ families still cannot have a legal parent-child relationship with both parents. This contradicts the spirit of equality we saw during the Yes Equality campaign.

Passing the referendum sent out a very positive and validating message to young LGBTQ+ people who were struggling with their sexuality, and we must make sure this remains the case. In the spirit of the referendum, we need to ensure all families are treated equally. Children born to these same-sex couples are not only symbolically marginalised but also face issues with access to inheritance, citizenship, and protection following the death of a parent.

The non-biological parents who lack legal recognition in these situations live with a sense of insecurity every day on top of the stresses that come with parenting; this is not equality. This is not true marriage equality.

All children should have equal legal recognition of their parents. Labour’s Children and Family Relationships (Amendment) Bill 2023 seeks to close these critical gaps. It aims to include those born to same-sex couples, especially those born or conceived abroad, outside clinical settings, or through known donors before May 2020, in all legal protections afforded to others.

Almost 6,000 same-sex couples have gotten married in Ireland since 2015, and I’ve been fortunate to see many good friends marry, but these people deserve the same opportunities for starting a family as any heterosexual married couple.

Looking forward, it’s important to continue to fight for all of these causes and the many more facing our communities. Uplifting same-sex parents, trans people and all queer people will have a positive ripple effect in society. Fostering an inclusive Ireland and reinforcing these solutions in law is the true way to honour Ireland’s history as an LGBTQ+ inclusive and progressive nation.

Senator Laura Harmon was president of the Union of Students in Ireland in 2015 and led the Students for Marriage Equality campaign, which saw an unprecedented youth turnout in the referendum. Laura is a former board member of the National LGBTQ+ Federation (NXF), and she is the only openly gay woman politician currently in the Oireachtas.