Here’s a one-minute Irish ad that shows just why civil unions suck. And while the recent announcement from the U.S. Department ensures that no child of same-sex parents will ever get denied the right to visit and make medical decisions for them, we still need some heartstring-pulling ads showing the many other ways that the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and marriage inequality still hurt adults and children. Maybe one showing a sick partner who can’t get employee medical benefits or another one showing a kid in trouble who can’t get helped by his lesbian mom.
CIVIL UNIONS BLOW
We Need The American Version Of This Irish Marriage Equality Ad STAT!
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SteveC
Excellent advert. Simple, moving and a very powerful message.
And while it is true that gay people enjoy far greater legal protections in Ireland, than we do in the US, it’s also true that only with full legal equality will we ever be free.
Fodolodo
There’s one major problem with using an ad like this one in the United States: its message in the US would not be accurate, or at least not as accurate. Irish civil partnerships don’t offer the same legal rights as marriage when it comes to matters relating to children; US civil unions or domestic partnerships generally do. I’m also not sure whether Ireland has any equivalent of second-parent adoption, which exists in numerous US states as an option for unmarried same-sex parents.
The problem with US civil unions in a context like this one is not that they lack the relevant legal rights, it’s that it’s much harder to get people to understand that they have those rights. There are also problems with inter-state recognition, but that applies equally to married same-sex couples.
Robert in NYC
When Ireland legislated for civil partnerships last year, a lot of people there assumed it would mirror the British version enacted six years ago. The difference between the two is that the British model confers all the rights of marriage under a different name, plus British gay partnered couples can adopt, even single gays can. The Irish version didn’t permit any of that.
That said, I think marriage equality will be inevitable in Ireland. Already, Scotland is about to begin it’s consultation for civil marriage equality and England is due to start this fall having previously rescheduled from this summer. Finland has marriage equality legislation pending and is expected to vote on and pass it this year. After that, the UK will probably be next.
BronxBorn
@Robert in NYC: With that shot at the Irish, I bet you’re not originally from NYC.
Robert in NYC
No. 4, what planet are you on, a shot at the Irish? Such as? My own paternal grandmother came from Ireland. Where did I denigrate anyone, point to where I said anything derogatory? I was referring to civil partnerships and their inequality, not the Irish people. Read it again. It happens to be the truth, check the facts on the differences between Irish and British civil partnerships. All I did was present the differences between the two versions. By the way, if you’re not born in Ireland but have Irish ancestry, you’re NOT Irish. You’re born here, that makes you American, not Irish-American, but American. I don’t know what being a native New Yorker or not has to do with my comments let alone have any relevance. As I said before, marriage equality in Ireland will come, inevitable, and rightly so.