Marriage Equality rally in Belfast this Saturday

Following the historic vote in favour of marriage equality in the Republic of Ireland last month, a rally to call for the same measure to be introduced in Northern Ireland is taking place in Belfast this Saturday 13 June. The assembly point will be at Art College Gardens at 2.30pm.

Marriage equality has not yet been legalised in Northern Ireland, despite its introduction across the rest of the UK. As a devolved issue, it falls on the Northern Ireland Assembly to legislate on the issue, and the DUP – who share power in the Assembly – have blocked its passage four times in the past two years. Marriage equality is supported across the country’s other parties, including Sinn Fein, the SDLP, and the Alliance party.

The March for Civil Marriage Equality is being organised jointly by Amnesty International, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and The Rainbow Project.

Amnesty International say marriage equality could come to Northern Ireland through the courts, if not through the Assembly. In a statement following the Yes vote in the Republic of Ireland, Amnesty’s Northern Ireland programme director Patrick Corrigan called Northern Ireland “the last bastion of discrimination against gay people in the these islands” and said the state of affairs were a badge of shame for “those politicians who oppose equal treatment for the LGBTI community”.