THE GAY AND Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) has “strongly welcomed” comments made by former Irish president Mary McAleese in an interview to be broadcast this evening.
McAleese will declare her support for marriage for lesbian and gay couples in an RTÉ programme The Meaning of Life with Gay Byrne tonight, saying:
I just think that people have this obsession somehow around homosexuality with the idea of sex, forgetting what it is that family and partnership is about – it’s about love and being there for another human being. That’s where I’m at in this debate.
Kieran Rose, GLEN Chair, commented that her support “is further evidence of the extensive momentum building for civil marriage for lesbian and gay couples”.
The former President agrees that lesbian and gay people are as entitled to live their lives on the same terms as everyone else, including their desire to get married, to love each other and to be there for each other.
This support follows on from two more councils – Fingal and Waterford City – last night voting to support same-sex marriage. “It is clear that the tide of public opinion has shifted towards an acceptance of marriage for same-sex couples” said Rose.
Rose added:
The next step, building on the strong public and political support and on the success of civil partnerships, is to provide for full Constitutional equality for lesbian and gay people by providing access to civil marriage.
He said that the former President, when in office, “offered very strong support and visibility to lesbian and gay people”.
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