Over 1,100 festival-goers signed an open letter to An Taoiseach calling for a referendum to change the definition of the family in the Constitution and almost 700 friends and couples had special digital ‘wedding photographs’ taken at the ICCL’s Love Equality Marquee at the Electric Picnic 2007.
ICCL staff and volunteers encouraged festival-goers to support the ICCL’s campaign for Equality for all Families, which is seeking constitutional and legal reforms to secure:
– Everyone’s rights to marry
– New rights to protect cohabiting couples
– Independent legal rights for children
Background to the ICCL’s campaign
Recent years have seen a dramatic rise in the number of cohabiting couples and diverse families in Ireland. Unmarried cohabiting couples have increased from 77,600 in 2002 to 121,000 in 2006.
Yet, it’s still the case that only families based on opposite sex marriage enjoy the protection of the Irish Constitution. This means that many families are denied protection under Irish law. Many cohabiting couples and diverse families want to share property, income, home life and to care and be cared for, yet they do not have the same protections as married couples.
The ICCL’s Equality for All Families campaign is raising awareness that everyone should have the right to marry in Ireland, regardless of their sexual identity or orientation. The campaign also advocates the introduction of new measures to protect cohabiting couples and to prioritise children’s rights.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) is Ireland’s leading independent human rights watchdog, which monitors, educates and campaigns in order to secure full enjoyment of human rights for everyone.