Campaigners for same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland used their platform to urge the British Prime Minister Theresa May to legislate for equal marriage at an awards ceremony in central London last night.
The Pink News Awards honoured the work and achievements of LGBT+ advocates in the United Kingdom. Campaigners for marriage equality in Northern Ireland – The Rainbow Project and Cara-Friend, part of the Love Equality coalition – were both the recipients of the Community Group of the Year award, presented to them by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
In accepting his award, director of The Rainbow Project, John O’Doherty, urged Theresa May to support marriage equality in Northern Ireland:
“As I stand here tonight I am struck by the fact that I can be recognised as married to my husband, but as he is in Belfast, he cannot be recognised as married to me.”
Email the PM!
It’s #TimeForEqualityConor McGinn MP’s NI Marriage Equality Bill is due in the Commons again on Fri 26 Oct.
But without UK Govt support, it can’t succeed. Click our link to ask the Ministers (& please RT to spread the word): https://t.co/Zv5Ti6Ys2W pic.twitter.com/gMiv1fycuo— Love Equality NI (@Love_EqualityNI) October 18, 2018
O’Doherty continued:
“We have watched as the Republic of Ireland and the rest of the UK have legislated for marriage and ensured equal recognition under the law for same-sex couples, and we have our faces pressed against the glass of equality.
“Westminster must legislate and we ask people from across the UK to write to the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Women’s and Equalities Minister urging them to legislate for equal marriage in Northern Ireland.”
Labour MP Conor McGinn and Conservative peer Lord Hayward were also recognised for their involvement in marriage equality as they collected the Politician of the Year Award.
McGinn said:
“I’m hugely honoured to have won Politician of the Year at the Pink News Awards jointly with my friend Lord Hayward. We won’t rest until we have marriage equality for Northern Ireland. Thank you to colleagues from all parties and everyone who continues to support Love Equality.”
On October 26 McGinn’s bill proposing same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland is due for a second reading before the House the Commons, and without government support, it is unlikely to pass.
As it stands, Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK which still bans marriage for same-sex couples, despite majority support among both the Northern Ireland Assembly and the public. A Sky News poll showed, in April, that 76% of the public showed support for marriage equality.
© 2018 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
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