UNIVERSITY College Cork’s Honan Chapel is a favoured
wedding venue but two of the three "couples" who tied the knot outside
its gates yesterday might not ordinarily be allowed to exchange vows in a
church.
The mock weddings were part of the Rainbow Week
event organised by the college’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
(LGBT) community, with emphasis on their disappointment with aspects of
the Civil Partnership Act which came into effect this month.
The acted-out ceremony was officiated by DJ Jules Walsh and featured a male-female couple and two same sex-couples — two young men and two young women.
The three couples are not real partners and are of mixed sexual orientation but they were supporting the UCC LGBT Society efforts to highlight what it sees as shortcomings in the recent legislation.
The act that took effect on January 1 means same-sex couples can have civil marriages from April, bestowing not just lifelong love and happiness but also entitlements in areas such as property, social welfare and succession.
But LGBT society campaigns officer Laura Harmon said the real thing, when it is open to same sex couples, is not as strong as members would have liked.
"With this event, we’re conveying our view that all couples should be treated equally and have access to full civil marriage, regardless of gender or sexual orientation," she said.
"One of the biggest shortcomings of the Civil Partnership Act is the lack of clarity about children from previous relationships. A lot of same-sex couples may have children from one partner’s former relationship or if one of them has adopted," said Ms Harmon, who is also UCC Students’ Union LGBT rights officer.
She said the language in the law shows there is still not true equality, referring to the use of the phrase "shared home" rather than "family home" in the new act.
Ms Harmon said there are also concerns about lack of recognition of a partner in relation to guardian rights in medical matters if the other partner has died but their biological child is ill.
"There’s a lot of imperfections but a law granting civil marriages is still a big step, given that homosexuality was only decriminalised in 1993," Ms Harmon acknowledged.
The three couples who took part in the open-air ceremony outside the Honan Chapel and the UCC student centre enjoyed wedding flowers and exchanged rings, with music from students in the college choral society.
All they were short was some good weather but they made up for it with a wedding cake reception and a Just Married party in a city nightclub.
The acted-out ceremony was officiated by DJ Jules Walsh and featured a male-female couple and two same sex-couples — two young men and two young women.
The three couples are not real partners and are of mixed sexual orientation but they were supporting the UCC LGBT Society efforts to highlight what it sees as shortcomings in the recent legislation.
The act that took effect on January 1 means same-sex couples can have civil marriages from April, bestowing not just lifelong love and happiness but also entitlements in areas such as property, social welfare and succession.
But LGBT society campaigns officer Laura Harmon said the real thing, when it is open to same sex couples, is not as strong as members would have liked.
"With this event, we’re conveying our view that all couples should be treated equally and have access to full civil marriage, regardless of gender or sexual orientation," she said.
"One of the biggest shortcomings of the Civil Partnership Act is the lack of clarity about children from previous relationships. A lot of same-sex couples may have children from one partner’s former relationship or if one of them has adopted," said Ms Harmon, who is also UCC Students’ Union LGBT rights officer.
She said the language in the law shows there is still not true equality, referring to the use of the phrase "shared home" rather than "family home" in the new act.
Ms Harmon said there are also concerns about lack of recognition of a partner in relation to guardian rights in medical matters if the other partner has died but their biological child is ill.
"There’s a lot of imperfections but a law granting civil marriages is still a big step, given that homosexuality was only decriminalised in 1993," Ms Harmon acknowledged.
The three couples who took part in the open-air ceremony outside the Honan Chapel and the UCC student centre enjoyed wedding flowers and exchanged rings, with music from students in the college choral society.
All they were short was some good weather but they made up for it with a wedding cake reception and a Just Married party in a city nightclub.
SIC: IEX/IE