Northern Ireland same-sex marriage cases dismissed
By Ross Semple
Same-sex couples in Northern Ireland have been dealt a blow after a judge dismissed two cases that could’ve legalised equal marriage in the country.
Three couples had issued a challenge to Northern Ireland’s current marriage law, but the High Court in Belfast ruled against them today (August 17).
Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK without marriage equality. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has blocked equal marriage legislation multiple times in the Northern Ireland assembly – most recently in November 2015, when a majority of the Assembly actually voted to legalise same-sex marriage, only for the DUP to effectively veto the measure under the terms of Stormont’s power-sharing agreement.
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Two of the three couples challenging the law (Shannon Sickles and Grainne Close, Christopher and Henry Flanagan-Kane) were among the first to get civil partnerships when that law came into effect in 2004. They brought forward a judicial review for the right to marry in their home country.
The third couple, who are remaining anonymous, got married in England three years ago but reside in Northern Ireland and want to have their union recognised there. As the law stood, same-sex marriages performed in other parts of the UK are reverted to civil partnerships in Northern Ireland.
In dismissing the latter claim, Judge Mr Justice O’Hara ruled: “It is not at all difficult to understand how gay men and lesbians who have suffered discrimination, rejection and exclusion feel so strongly about the maintenance in Northern Ireland of the barrier to same sex marriage. However, the judgment which I have to reach is not based on social policy but on the law.
“While the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission supports an equal level of human rights protection across the United Kingdom, its Chief Commissioner wrote on 11 June 2012 that ‘the restriction of marriage to opposite sex couples does not violate the international standards and this is clear from both the international treaties and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Committee.’ In my view the Chief Commissioner was correct to make that statement.”
Ciaran Moynagh, lawyer for the anonymous couple, said of the ruling: “Of course, we are disappointed by today’s ruling. What it shows is that more work needs to be done to explain a truth that, to us, is self-evident; the love two men or two women share is never a threat to society – in fact the world could do with a little more love today.
“Today we are calling on the mums, dads, siblings and friends of LGBT+ people to no longer remain on the side lines. Speak, write or tweet to our political leaders reminding them that the majority of people in Northern Ireland support same sex marriage. Our fight to have our love recognised continues and we will discuss our options with our legal team.”
Northern Ireland continues to be the only place in the UK without marriage equality.