Togs on for the august Marriages !

Monday, May 25, 2015 - 05:08 PM

The first same sex marriages in Ireland could take place as soon as August, earlier than originally thought. 

The Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has said she is conscious that people want to marry as soon as possible and she is working to make that happen. 

Frances Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald promised that the necessary legislation will be enacted by the end of July. 

However, she is to allow the 90-day notification of intent of a civil partnership to be converted to a notification of marriage. 

This means anyone planning a civil partnership from August can instead get married.

“My intention is to seek Government approval for the Marriage Bill 2015 in June with the aim of introducing the Bill into the Oireachtas immediately thereafter so that the legislation can be enacted before the summer recess,” said Minster Fitzgerald.

Equality - Not There Yet !

Following on from the 2:1 Marriage Equality Win. There are other contentious issues to be dealt with,

one in particular is the State allowed ban on gay teachers in certain religious-run schools and the

strengthening up of transgender rights that citizen equality operates through all levels of society.

Thus senior officials from three key groups behind the yes campaign outlined the next steps in what they have stressed is an equality drive wider than same sex-marriage at a press conference in response to the decision to amend the Constitution.

Speaking to reporters in Dublin, representatives of Yes Equality, Marriage Equality, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, and the Gay and Lesbian Network expressed their gratitude to the entire country for the 62% yes vote.

However, with a general election just around the corner and political parties seeking to “reap the rewards”, they said now was the time to push for similar progress on other issues.

“I am very proud this campaign was headlined by equality, but we have unfinished business. We still have legalised discrimination of LGBT teachers in schools with a religious ethos, that needs to be amended,” said ICCL executive director Mark Kelly.

Section 37 of the Equal Status Acts allows for religious-run schools to effectively ban gay teachers if it is felt their personal life contradicts the facility’s ethos, a situation teacher unions have consistently warned is discriminatory.

The unrelated transgender recognition bill which is going through the Oireachtas is based on a warning Ireland is in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights as it does not recognise the new identities of people who have undergone gender reassignment. While campaigners say progress has been made, they believe the current wording will still discriminate.

Speaking at the same press conference, campaigners noted the “momentous” events of this weekend, with campaign co-director Brian Sheehan saying it has “reshaped forever the Republic in which we live”.

GLEN chair Kieran Rose said young gay people who may be “isolated or bullied” in school “now know 1.2m people have voted to back them up” and noted the view is not limited to “liberal” parts of Dublin.

He said the public vote “is a fantastic beacon of hope to countries that are now what we were like in the 1970s and 1980s” and that Ireland can become a world leader on equal rights.

MARRIAGE EQUALITY - YES !

Ireland is the first country in the world to approve same-sex marriage in a popular nationwide vote.

The official result was declared at Dublin Castle shortly before 7pm on 23rd May.

A total of 1,201,607 people (62.1%) voted Yes and 734,300 (37.9%) voted No.

It is a good feeling not only to be on the winning side but to be living in a country where democracy counts and all of it's people are valued.

The jubilant scene outside of Dublin Castle.

Following the formal announcement of a Yes vote in the marriage equality referendum, Yes Equality Co-directors Grainne Healy and Brian Sheehan addressed the crowds at Dublin Castle:

"Today, we are more truly a nation of equals. The people of Ireland have exercised their Constitutional right and by direct vote they have said an emphatic 'Yes' to Equality. We now join twenty other countries where same-sex marriage has been entirely legalized. We are the first country to do so by a vote of the people.

"This referendum was all about belonging - Irish lesbian and gay citizens had to ask the Irish people if they too can belong to Ireland and belong in Ireland. In their deep generosity the Irish people have said 'Yes'- Yes, we belong. Today's result means that having been 'branded and isolated' for decades, each lesbian and gay person knows now that they too belong in Ireland, as full, equal citizens.

"It means more. It means that lesbian and gay couples belong to each other in a rich, new, and profound way. That lesbian and gay parents belong anew to their children, and their children to them. And that mothers and fathers can now rest assured that their lesbian and gay children belong in the same way as all their children.

"It means that all of us - lesbian, gay, straight, family members, friends, colleagues, allies, voters - belong equally to the Irish national family.

"To the Irish people, to those who voted 'Yes', you have done something that should make you forever proud. Do not forget this moment, this moment when you were your best self, when you chose to make your mark for an Ireland that could be a better and fairer place.

"And to those who did not yet vote with us, we hope that, as lesbian and gay couples marry, you will see that we seek only to add to the happiness and the security of the diverse Irish national family.

"While today is a day for celebration, it is only right that we should remember those who over the years were deprived of the opportunity that this 'Yes' bringss, those who were deprived of a fundamental human right.

"We should remember the many lives blighted by shame, lives lived in loneliness and isolation, lives lost to hostility and fear. No longer should men and women have to hide a part of themselves from others and even from themselves, deprived of the opportunity to love and be loved.

"We should remember too and honour those who took the first brave and lonely steps that led us to this day: those who pointed up the discrimination, the inequality, the segregation; those who refused - often at great personal cost - to be silenced or intimidated by the voices of intolerance; those who fought for equality, inclusion and recognition. They laid the foundations for today's transformative and historic change.

"And there can be no doubt that this campaign for marriage equality has indeed been transformative. It has given LGBT people in Ireland permission to love ourselves and come out more comfortably and completely, some for the first time ever. It has generated a discussion and awareness among Irish people about equality and diversity and fairness - a discussion and awareness that will now flourish and grow."

22nd May Referendum Day

On 22nd May Ireland will hold two Referenda on the same day. 

a, To change the minimum age of when an individual can become The President of Ireland from 35 to 21.

Personally I think that 21 is too young and that anyone who takes up this high office needs to have 'lived' and to have had life experiences.

b,The one that is upper most in the news is the Marriage Equality Referendum.

This referendum is being held to make a change in the Irish Constitution about the rights of the individual to marry a person of their choice- a person of the same sex as themselves.

Currently the word ‘marriage' in the Constitution refers only to the marriage between a male and a female, it fails to recognise the rights of the individual. The 1916 Proclamation guaranteed religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all of its citizens.

It is now time to put that right.

I have read the amendment and I have read the Children and Family Relationships Bill and am satisfied that the Marriage Equality amendment has nothing to do with children.

The state of being married does not mean that children will be produced by the couple, adopted or even fostered and being married does not give any couple a right to a family.

Nor does the Marriage Equality referendum have anything to do with religion.

Myself and Mrs H enjoy a very happy marriage and I see no reason why my gay friends in Ireland should not be allowed to do the same, especially as some of them have been partners for a lot longer than we have.

YOU CAN BE RICH!

Money loads of money

Last night I received a long message on Skype informing me that I could share a fortune with an African gentleman purportedly from Ghana. 

It was of course a Scam and to make matters worse a very antiquated one. Which just goes to show how stupid these people are in promulgating that which is now widely known and recognised as being nonsense.

I retired to bed laughing at their ridiculousness!

So for your information and awareness here is what was Skyped to me.

ps
Barclay's Bank now aware
and
the blog has received a visitor from Ghana

[12/05/2015 22:31:55] James Kofi: Greetings to you,

I have been in search of someone with the last name Mel so when I saw your name I was pushed to contact you and see how best we can assist each other. I am Mr. James Kofi, I am in account department, Barclays Bank Plc, Ghana. I believe it is the wish of God for me to come across you on my search now. I am having an important business discussion I wish to share with you which I believe will interest you because, it is in connection with your last name and you are going to benefit from it.

One late Mr. Lucas Mel, a citizen of your country had a fixed deposit with my bank in 2006, valued at US $9,400,000.00 (Nine Million, Four Hundred Thousand US Dollars) Sadly, Mr. Lucas Mel he was among the death victims in the massive earthquake in tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011 and killed over 10,000 people, wish you can look for yourself http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7410166.stm.

He was in Japan on a business trip and that was how he met his end. My bank management is yet to know about his death, I knew about it because he was my friend and I am his account officer Mr. Lucas Mel did not mention any next of kin/heir when the account was opened, and Mr. Lucas Mel was not married and no children. 

Last week my bank management requested that I should give instructions on what to do about his funds, if to renew the contract. I know this will happen and that is why I have been looking for a means to handle the situation, because if my bank directors happens to know that Mr. Lucas Mel is dead and do not have any heir, they will take the funds for their personal use, so I don't want such to happen. 

That was why when I saw your last name I was happy and I am now seeking your co-operation to present you as next of kin/ heir to the account, since you have the same last name with him and my bank head quarters will release the account to you. There is no risk involved.

The transaction will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of law. It is better that we claim the money, than allowing the bank directors to take it, they are rich already. I am not a greedy person, so I am suggesting we share the funds, 50/50% to both parties, and my share will assist me to start my own company that has been my dream. Let me know your mind on these and please do treat this information as a top secret. We will go over the details once I receive your urgent response to my email address: James_kofi2222@yahoo.com have a nice day and God bless.

GOOD NEIGHBOURS

These Lads are our nearest neighbours, we see them on opening the curtains in the morning and throughout the day. They are quiet unobtrusive fellows who apart from grazing the lush green pasture only raise their heads to stare at our comings and goings.


It is rumoured that they are grazing on holy ground, for there is said to have been an ancient oratory that once stood on the rise of this field. I fancy that it was long ago and probably made of wood for there is nothing to be seen now. Nothing, not even an indentation on the ground remains, just a sense of peacefulness.


Many rumours surround my old home and I was told when moving here that there was gold buried behind the cottage. What they didn't say was how far behind.
I think it would have to be many miles away, in the nearest town; although on digging once, I did find some yellowed old bones of an animal - probably of an ass.


There are of course 'the good people' who wander around just before dusk and at times they can be quite active. A bottle of whisky went missing once when we had a party that went on for two days in the back garden.
We had laid down the drink in the long grass to keep it in a place of safety away from the dancers and frolickers and there it stayed for two nights along with a bottle of cider.
In the morning only the cider remained...... 'they' know what they like best you see.