Ireland will
legalize civil partnerships for gay couples, Prime Minister
Bertie Ahern pledged on Monday as he opened new offices for
the country's leading gay rights group. Civil
partnerships, legalized in the United
Kingdom last year, afford many of the rights of
marriage to gay and lesbian couples.
"Sexual
orientation cannot and must not be the basis of a
second-class citizenship," Ahern told an audience at
Ireland's Gay and Lesbian Equality Network. "Our laws
have changed and will continue to change to reflect
this principle,"
Ahern said it
would be more difficult to legalize same-sex partnerships
in Ireland than it was in the United Kingdom, which approved
the unions in December. Ireland's constitution has a
clause requiring the predominantly Roman Catholic
state to protect the institution of marriage, whereas
the U.K., which includes neighboring Northern Ireland,
has no written constitution.
"This challenge,
however, is one that the government is determined to
meet. We are committed to legislating on this issue," said
Ahern, who noted that a government-appointed group of
experts would recommend several possible options in a
report expected in November. "Although there is a
growing climate of equality and support for
antidiscrimination action, I also recognize that
members of the gay community still face isolation,
abuse, and victimization on the basis of their sexuality,"
Ahern added. (AP)
