Today, two gay couples won legal permission to challenge the ban on same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland.
A judge at the High Court in Belfast granted Grainne Close, her partner Shannon Sickles, and Chris and Henry Flanagan-Kane to seek a judicial review of the current ban on same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland. The judge ruled that both couples had “arguable cases” and granted them the right to proceed.
Both couples, who entered into civil partnerships in 2005, say that not having access to civil marriage was a breach of human rights.
Their solicitor Mark O’Connor, “We are disappointed in these times of economic hardship and difficulties in access to justice that the applicants are forced to rely on the courts to ensure our politicians act without discrimination, without prejudice, and without bias.”
Following the ruling that the couples had an arguable case, Justice Treacy agreed to a further review in September. It is expected that the legal challenge will be handed over to another judge who is set to hear the Family Division action in November.
© 2015 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
Support GCN
GCN has been a vital, free-of-charge information service for Ireland’s LGBTQ+ community since 1988.
During this global COVID pandemic, we like many other organisations have been impacted greatly in the way we can do business and produce. This means a temporary pause to our print publication and live events and so now more than ever we need your help to continue providing this community resource digitally.
GCN is a registered charity with a not-for-profit business model and we need your support. If you value having an independent LGBTQ+ media in Ireland, you can help from as little as €1.99 per month. Support Ireland’s free, independent LGBTQ+ media.
comments. Please sign in to comment.