LGBT Noise – Protest tomorrow, Central Bank 2pm

This Valentine’s Day, come and do your bit for love by showing your support
for Ireland’s LGBT people – and their children – at the Central
Bank at 2pm.

It’ll be a great big Valentine’s love-fest with a message – you bring the love, we’ll bring the music, balloons and blindfolds! (more on those anon)

Brian Cowen’s government has announced that the Civil Partnership
legislation will be brought before the Dáil this spring, perhaps as early as
Easter – now is the time to remind Mr Cowen that a second-class ‘registration
scheme’ for gay couples is not acceptable in an egalitarian society. Justice, like love, should be blind (hence the blindfolds!) and that means not creating arbitrary differences through discriminatory legislation.
There is one way to grant equality to same-sex couples: we should be allowed
the choice to enter civil marriage.

So…come along to the Central Bank at 2pm this Valentine’s Day and make some NOISE!

Love and Noise,

The Noise Team

A few words on Marriage and Civil Partnership…

Religious Marriage:

This is how different faiths recognise couples within their religion. It’s
optional. Most couples in Ireland opt for this, but 1 in 5 do not.

Civil Marriage:

This is how the State legally recognises couples, giving them rights,
responsibilities and protections.

Civil Partnership:

This is the limited set of rights which the government will allow, possibly
this year.
Civil partnership is a law for gay people only.

It says:
That we are strangers in law to children we raise;
That we and our children cannot even be called a family;
That gay couples must pay higher taxes.

This law is being written right now, but we still have time to tell the government
that we will NOT be second-class citizens! There is only one way to grant
equality – through the choice of civil marriage.