Civil Partnership Bill published A Bill which will give people in long-term relationships many of the statutory rights of married couples has been published.
The legislation will allow same-sex couples to register their civil partnership for the first time and will also recognise a number of other rights and obligations previously denied to them. Unmarried opposite-sex couples will be allowed to register, as will those in non-sexual relations, such as siblings who live together, or cohabiting companions.
Under the Bill, once a civil partnership is registered, the couple will be dealt with in the same way as a married couple by the Revenue Commissioners.
"The Bill has been carefully framed to balance any potential conflict between these two constitutionally guaranteed rights. This balance is achieved by maintaining material distinctions between civil partnership and marriage, in particular between the rights attaching to both, while at the same time reflecting the equality rights protected by the Constitution,” Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern this afternoon.
while not perfect, particularly in light of the Irish imperfect constitution, i do like that it places gay marraige (however you want to phrase it) firmly in the context of other relationships that exist in our "messy" and non nukular family modern societies. Its not particular to them being gay, its particular to them beign in a long term relationship. As is should be - non judgemental.
