Gay Rights in Northern Ireland

On July 17th 2013 the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill received Royal Assent becoming the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. However this only allows civil marriage for same sex couples in England and Wales.

When Northern Ireland was proposed with the question "Westminster has legalised same sex marriage, although churches have the legal right to refuse to perform the ceremonies. Should this law be extended to Northern Ireland" 30% voted no, 27% voted yes and 43% had no opinion.

It is of my belief that the most alarming statistic is that 43% of the population of Northern Ireland have no opinion, I believe that we need to provide education on gay rights and marriage, starting in high school. In order for the people to have an opinion we need to educate them.

Of those who voted, in the age group of 18-24 year olds 43% said yes and 21% said no, whereas in the age group of 65%+ year olds 12% said yes and 43% said no. This statistic shows us that the young people in our country are embracing life with an open mind and if we add the education of gay rights to the school curriculum we can give them a push even further into the right direction.

14 countries have legalised gay marriage, lets work together to make Northern Ireland the next.

For more information on gay rights and to help support the cause visit http://www.straightbutnotnarrow.org/

J.B.

AV Referendum tomorrow

The Referendum is nearly upon as, as are the elections for the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly, Northern Ireland Assembly and English local councils. This BBC page is a helpful one-stop shop for analysis of what is taking place, including Jeremy Vine's short video guide with the usual whizzy graphics. If you missed them, here are the campaign broadcasts for the Yes and No campaigns for the referendum.

This is another attempt to explain AV to the wider public and here is BBC3's attempt to debate the subject with young voters (and Richard Bacon).

How do you think it's all going to turn out? Please let us have your predictions!

Bloody Sunday

The final report of the Saville Inquiry is due to be published today, which has investigated the events of Bloody Sunday on 30 January 1972 when 13 people on a civil rights march were shot dead by soldiers in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The shootings were one of the most controversial events of "The Troubles" - Northern Ireland's recent turbulent political history, and the unrest that followed led to the imposition of direct rule from London which lasted for over 30 years. The Inquiry has proved controversial, particularly for the length of time it has taken and its expense. The Inquiry has interviewed all of the key individuals and runs to 5000 pages in length, but it is unlikely that everyone will be satisfied by its final outcome.

PS: Here is a overview of Northern Ireland's history to put the events into context.

PPS: Here is the official website of the inquiry

PPPS: Here is an interesting article from the Times comparing the Inquiry to French reluctance to examine the role of the Vichy collaborators, considering differing attitudes to whether the past should be faced or buried.

Policing and Justice Powers

Northern Ireland's decision to allow the devolution of policing and justice powers is an important development in the history of events there since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The party politics is also interesting, with the DUP having been key to the decision and the UUP disagreeing. David Cameron's decision to make an alliance with the UUP in this context looks interesting. Another feature that was noticeable with the Good Friday Agreement was the involvement of the Americans, in Tuesday's case Hillary Clinton and George W Bush were involved but to seemingly less effect. See the BBC story and links here and the Guardian's here.

Battle of the Bogside 1969

It is the 40th anniversary this week of the Battle of the Bogside in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, which led to the British Army's involvement in 'The Troubles'. At first British troops were welcomed as a neutral force but fairly soon they became embroiled in the conflict themselves. Interesting comment here in the Times and some great footage and reports here from Panorama.