Courtney McGrailDear Editor, A Labour Party flier has been posted to my home. It reads ‘The Constitution should treat everyone equally’. There is truth here. Under God and State, all women and men are equal and are due equal respect and consideration.
Now it is also true that every one of us has different gifts and roles to play. This diversity is more than tolerated, it is celebrated, supported and encouraged.
Presently, the Irish Constitution recognises that the family based on marriage of a man and a woman is “the natural primary and fundamental unit group in society”.
In 2010, the Civil Partnership Act was passed. This gives same-sex couples in civil partnerships almost all the rights and benefits married couples have. The act rightly recognises that the life-giving potential of a male and female union is not present in a civil partnership.
In January 2010, speaking on the Civil Partnership Bill, Leo Varadkar, now Minister for Health, affirmed: “Every child has a right to a mother and father, and, as much as is possible, the State should vindicate that right. That is a much more important right than that of two men or two women having a family. That is the principle that should underline our laws regarding children and adoption.”
Ireland does not need this referendum.
Yours etc.,
Geraldine Murphy,
Killiney,
Co. Dublin.