This article is from page 25 of the 2008-07-08 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 25 JPG
yesterday.
“Comprehensive civil partnership, as proposed in the heads of bill, is a major milestone towards equality. The Gay Clare group sup- port access to full equality through civil marriage and this bill is a fun- damental step forward towards this goal.
“The provisions outlined last week will resolve many immediate and pressing issues faced by lesbian and gay couples in Clare and will
also provide a platform for further progress.”
“The proposals in the heads of bill however do not provide for legal rec- ognition of the many same-sex cou- ples, particularly women, who are parenting children together, leaving these parents and their children out- side the protection of the State,” con- tinued the Gay Clare spokesperson.
“This is of critical importance to parents _WOCG MMO eCeDUROUODN(ONKoINME-UITe! Gay Clare urges the government to bring
forward proposals to address this legal gap.”
If passed the civil partnership bill will also have huge impli- cations for co-habiting and unmarried cou- joo
More than 20 mem-
bers of Fianna Fail par- liamentary party signed a motion questioning elements of the bill last week. Following an emergency meet- ing, a party spokesman said that there was “broad support” for the bill. The parliamentary party decided to refer the bill to its justice committee for further consideration.