Maman Poulet

It’s been mentioned in the run up to previous elections but today I think is the first time Senator David Norris has seriously thrown his hat in the ring for nomination to contest the Presidency (Election to take place next year).

In today’s Sunday Tribune Norris admits he is interested.  There is a facebook group and petitions underway already.

“The pressure has come from people. And it’s pretty consistent, and, of course, I feel obliged to say yes of course, I would consider it and it would be a huge honour,” Norris said.

“I’m an ideas man. And I’ve contributed ideas. I mean the Metro, for example, was my idea, for the last 25 years. And I skillfully steered it through. And it looks as if even in the recession we might get it.

“All this Joyce stuff, Bloomsday and all this, that was my brainwave 30 or 40 years ago,and look where it’s gone.”

Norris does not want to run for Dublin Mayor as he does not feel he has the correct set of talents for the job.

In order to receive a nomination for the Presidency he must receive the support of 20 members of the Oireachtas or 4 County Councils.

Brian Crowley MEP is touted as being in line for the Fianna Fáil nomination. No news on Fine Gael. Norris said that he would have difficulty running not only because securing the votes of enough parliamentarians  but there is also the Michael D. Higgins factor – Michael D. is someone that Norris much admires. No word on whether Michael D. is interested in running though.

Cue the campaign for the 3rd Mary. (Thanks to Junior Larkin for that particular inspiration )

By the way Ivan Yates is listed in the Paddy Power odds for the Presidency as 33/1 – the same odds as David Norris.  Not sure if anyone has asked Ivan if he is interested in running – see previous post on my reaction?

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I was asked 3 times yesterday about gay people in the Irish Army and if they were allowed to serve. The hearings to examine the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) have commenced in the USA and Obama has promised to remove the bar on lesbians and gay men serving openly in the US Military.

It’s so long ago since there has been any public discourse in the Irish media on the matter.

The answer is yes – lesbians and gay men can openly serve in the defence forces, in fact there has been no preclusion but in 1993 when male homosexuality was decriminalised in Ireland there was a significant change to make sure that there was no discrimination in terms of policy. At the same time as equal age of consent was introduced the Irish Defence Forces calmly announced that they would be treating heterosexuals and homosexuals equally – no relationships between senior and junior officers. No harassment of gay officers and no asking questions about peoples sexuality was also confirmed by Ministers and Army chiefs.

From the Irish Independent May 1993

In a related development, the Chief of Staff of the Irish Defence Forces, Lieutenant General Noel Bergin, told the _Irish Independent_ on Tuesday that a report on the introduction of a code of conduct governing interpersonal relationships is being prepared. The decision to prepare a report follows a recent announcement by the Minister for Defence, Mr David Andrews, that military regulations would be modified to take account of any reform in the civil law on homosexuality. Mr Andrews is seen as a member of the liberal wing of the Fianna Fail party. Lt Gen Bergin pointed out that the Army does not ask potential recruits about their sexual orientation, and that they had few problems in the past in this area.

And a quote from the Dáil record in February 1993 from the then Minister for Defence David Andrews

51. Mr. Barry asked the Minister for Defence if there are regulations governing homosexuality for entrants to the Defence Forces; the current official position on the matter; if it is proposed to make any changes in the present regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Defence (Mr. Andrews): While the question of homosexuality is not specifically covered in Defence Force Regulations the provisions of section 169 of the Defence Act, 1954, provide that acts which are in breach of the criminal law of the State are also deemed to be offences against military law.

Information regarding sexual orientation is not sought from personnel wishing to enlist in the Defence Forces and it is not proposed to change this policy.

The Defence forces have a code on interpersonal relationships and guidelines in relation to discrimination – see Section 4 par 119.

I’m sure there is still discrimination faced by gay and lesbian members of the defence forces but the policy would indicate that there is no bar on lesbians and gay men working in this area. Other lgbt historians and folklorists may wish to add information to this post?

Maybe we could send current Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea to Washington to tell them all about it? It’s 17 years ago since the issue was dealt with here and 17 years since it was last debated in the Capitol Hill.

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Pat Kenny much like his colleague Ryan Tubridy is really uncomfortable talking about lesbian and gay issues, never mind those of gender identity. However this unease does not stop his brain working overtime.

This morning while discussing Peter Robinson’s statement on his wife’s affair, Pat speculated that some aggrieved gay person was out to get Iris for her remarks on homosexuality and hence why the story was broken. Himself and Eamon Mallie then went on to talk about the hatred for Iris from gays and others. Cough, her own ire for us  didn’t get much of a look in. Lovely woman seemingly if very unpopular everywhere.

I’m still laughing here at the thoughts of a gay man being so conniving – you give the gays far too much credit Pat? And of course it’s a convenient air time filler while you and everyone else wait for the Spotlight programme to go ahead. It wasn’t a gay man that Iris was having an affair with, and allegedly getting people to give money to was it?

Update:

11.15 Pat returns to ‘the gays’ and Iris and interiews Samuel Marr about his documentary, Mise an tUafás, trying to interview Iris Robinson about her comments about homosexuality. Pat wonders if ‘the gays’ are ‘too touchy’ on the subject.

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The Burning Issues research launched today by the National Lesbian and Gay Federation comes shortly before the debating of the Civil Partnership Bill. Yesterday evening a number of LGBT organisations were invited to the Equality Authority for a briefing on the Bill. As Tipster says it’s a bit odd that GLEN could not/did not want to get all the players into the room themselves and a state agency had to do the calling!  I wonder what the tunes from the Hymm sheets to be sung to are going to sound like. (Stay tuned for news on coverage of the CP bill debates.)

Back to this research which was a survey of over 1100 people using online non random methods. Funded by the European Commission and SIPTU it was conducted earlier this year and is launched tomorrow along with a report of a conference on Marriage Matters hosted by the NLGF in May.  The NLGF have stated that they are using this research to establish their mandate in influencing policy in national and international spheres – ooh a consultation!  To be followed by meetings around the country!  Good to see talking and listening to people is suddenly in vogue!

..the NLGF decided to consult with LGBT individuals and organisations nationwide, on what they consider to be the most important policy areas affecting them. The first stage of this was undertaking an online survey of the community. We were delighted to receive over 1100 responses to the survey, which makes it one of the largest consultation exercises ever undertaken with the LGBT community. The results of the survey form the basis of this report.
The next stage will be a number of meetings with people and organisations across the country to discuss the issues and plot the way forward. This will help us prioritise our future work, and inform us as to how we may best continue to support the LGBT community.

The Key Research Findings on the main issues concerning the LGBT community rank as follows

1. Equal Rights at Work

2. Personal Security

3. Marriage Equality

4. Support for younger LGBT people

5. Supporting people coming out

The Age and Gender split on the issues is very interesting and there is a strong emphasis in the report on the issues affecting people outside of Dublin and the difference between rural and urban respondents.

Marriage equality ranks highest for women under 35 and only 5th highest for women over 35. It does not rank at in the top five issues for Men over 35 and is third important for younger men.

It is to the Qualitative Data that the researchers are asked to turn to to drag up the Marriage Equality ranking.  Put simply respondents said more in open answers as a Burning Issue Priority on Marriage Equality issues than any other. So that makes it important again.  This blog’s resident sociologists can interpret this further if they wish! (Question 4a in the questionnaire and page 24 and 25 of the report)

Respect and dignity at work and safety in the streets coming higher than marriage in this research may serve as an important reminder to those recognised as commentators and consulted on LGBT issues.  But then again a few of them are busy talking up the LGBT community as confident actors in the economy.  Oops that was before the recession, I don’t know what the spin will be now.  Maybe the vulnerable and socially excluded drums will start beating soon enough as the money runs out.

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Public Servants who are in non-marital relationships and wish to pass their pensions to partners have long complained about futile contributions that they have made to widows and orphans funds only not be able to transfer them to their partners when they die.

Former Minister for Finance Charlie McCreevy annouced a review of the arrangements in 2004. It was part of a examination of the implementation of the recommendations of the Commission on Public Service Pensions which had reported in 2001.  The review and proposals have been ready for some time now – they included raising pension contributions for those who wished to join the scheme (even though they were paying it already and unable to claim!!!)

Today’s Sunday Tribune reports that Finance Minister Brian Lenihan is going to shelve plans to introduce a scheme of non-spousal pension rights. No real suprise there then ‘in the current climate’  but maybe the Minister can answer how the Civil Service proposes to maintain it’s committment to it’s Circular published in 2002 on ‘Diversity in the Civil Service – A Policy on Equality of Opportunity’ .

Equality of Opportunity

4.         Equality of opportunity in the Civil Service means that:

-  all Civil Servants can be confident that their rights under the Employment Equality Act are guaranteed and that no-one will receive less favourable treatment than someone else because of their gender, marital or family status, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, disability, race or membership of the Traveller community;

-  throughout their working lives, Civil Servants can be assured of equality of participation in their Department[1], regardless of gender, marital or family status, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, disability, race or membership of the Traveller community; 

-  all Civil Servants have a responsibility to create a working environment in which differences are respected and in which all people – staff, clients and customers – are valued as individuals; 

-  as an employer, the Civil Service will strive to achieve real equality of opportunity by continuously monitoring its employment practices to ensure that they do not perpetuate existing inequalities.

 

Or maybe gay and unmarried civil servants can finally be allowed to opt out of paying pension contributions etc on pensions that they will never be able to claim?

Or maybe the Minister could favour gay and unmarried civil servants for being cheap to hire as they don’t become pension liabilities? 

I can see those posters now- ‘Dorothy the teacher did her duty for the nation in coming out and not getting married – no widower’s pension needed to be paid. Thoughtful and committed to the last in saving the nations pennies’  We need more people like Dorothy! Come join us’.

(Sunday Sarcasm factor is currently rated at high)

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Immediately following his election Obama’s transition team launched change.gov. This site aims to continue his relationship with his supporters whilst detailing and also recruiting people to work in his administration (it explicitly lists a ban on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity for those working in the Obama led White house and other agencies).

Today further information is provided on the agenda of an Obama led government on issues for the LGBT community and other civil rights issues. Whilst Irish LGBT’s have workplace and service protection, there are several issues on this list that are not on the agenda of the Irish rights movement never mind the Irish Government.

Support for the LGBT Community

“While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It’s about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect.”

— Barack Obama, June 1, 2007

The Obama-Biden Plan

* Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: In 2004, crimes against LGBT Americans constituted the third-highest category of hate crime reported and made up more than 15 percent of such crimes. Barack Obama cosponsored legislation that would expand federal jurisdiction to include violent hate crimes perpetrated because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical disability. As a state senator, Obama passed tough legislation that made hate crimes and conspiracy to commit them against the law.

* Fight Workplace Discrimination: Barack Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees’ domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy. Obama also sponsored legislation in the Illinois State Senate that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

* Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples: Barack Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights.

* Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage: Barack Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006 which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.

* Repeal Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell: Barack Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. Obama will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.

* Expand Adoption Rights: Barack Obama believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. He thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.

* Promote AIDS Prevention: In the first year of his presidency, Barack Obama will develop and begin to implement a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies. The strategy will be designed to reduce HIV infections, increase access to care and reduce HIV-related health disparities. Obama will support common sense approaches including age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception, combating infection within our prison population through education and contraception, and distributing contraceptives through our public health system. Obama also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. Obama has also been willing to confront the stigma — too often tied to homophobia — that continues to surround HIV/AIDS. He will continue to speak out on this issue as president.

* Empower Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS: In the United States, the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last 20 years. Today, women account for more than one quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. Barack Obama introduced the Microbicide Development Act, which will accelerate the development of products that empower women in the battle against AIDS. Microbicides are a class of products currently under development that women apply topically to prevent transmission of HIV and other infections.

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“The quality of light by which we scrutinize our lives has direct bearing upon the product which we live, and upon the changes which we hope to bring about through those lives.”

(Audre Lorde – Poetry Is Not A Luxury)

The time has (more than) come to reframe the narrow terms of the marriage debate in Ireland.

And so to Marie Mulholland’s critique of the current campaign for same sex marriage here.

The uninterrogated pursuit of marriage to the exclusion of any other regularisation of family forms and partnerships has left the campaign open to allegations of ‘mé feinism’ as overheard recently in one discussion. Inevitably, it has led to a surge in the adoption of at best naïve and at worst reactionary politics and conservative values in the rush to support gay marriage. Perhaps, it is timely to remember the words of Audre Lorde, ‘the masters tools will never dismantle the masters house.’

Read the full essay at Irish Left Review.

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Image via WikipediaThe Green Party seem to spend a considerable amount of time analysing the campaign for same sex marriage/partnership rights. Paul Gogarty TD and chairperson of the party delves into comment’s on Damiens recent post to clarify the reported comments to constituents and others regarding how the campaign is being won and lost.

Deputy Gogarty believes that John Gormley’s words of wisdom to members of the lesbian and gay community at that meeting about lobbying FF have fallen on deaf ears.. (I heard them too…)

‘On a separate note, although I am not Spokesperson for this area, I do recall that our Leader John Gormley asked members of the Irish Gay and Lesbian Community at a special reception to get active on this issue and put pressure on Fianna Fail in particular. This has not happened.’

In the preceding comment Deputy Gogarty made an interesting observation

‘So far there has been no evidence of a campaign by the Gay community and their friends and families to put pressure on this reactionary conservative grouping.

No point in preaching to the converted and then cursing them for trying to be helpful. We are doing our best. But Government is made up of several parties and FF is the biggest by far.’

This is an interesting point and one which I’m sure that members of Marriage Equality and LGBT Noise will repudiate. However I think one should define reactionary conservative grouping… Because to me that means the Iona Institute and not Fianna Fáil. And for me far far too much time has been spent entertaining these people in the letters page of the Irish Times and other places. This crazy gang are a small organisation which has been given the primary opposition status by the responses and attention paid to them by lgb activists.

So has the eye been taken off the ball – the FF ball that is?? Or is this an attempt to lay the blame at the lgbt community by the Green Party laying the ground to diminish expectations and say ‘honest guv it wasn’t us!?’

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All eyes turn to Dundalk on the political front this weekend. They have a conference blog (looking forward to hearing from the Green Party Gay and Lesbian bloggers this weekend!) And they have a conference flickr stream as you can see from Minister Gormley’s smiling face.

And they have guest speakers…including Ann Louise Gilligan and Katherine Zappone from Marriage Equality. Not sure what the story on the children’s rights issues is…Still going on about the M word though!

Delegates are also hearing tonight from Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan of Marriage Equality Initiative, who are holding a question and answer session with a number of speakers.

Mr Gormley said the forthcoming Civil Partnership Bill may not contain everything the Green Party wanted but said it was a significant move in the right direction and would not have come about without his party’s participation in Government.

Equality campaigner Ms Gilligan and her partner Katherine Zappone are pursuing a Supreme Court case for recognition of their Canadian marriage. She told delegates that marriage is about the freedom to choose to marry the person you love.

I’m in London this weekend where they have Civil Partnerships and childrens’ rights and the sky did not fall in – far far away from Dundalk…though I did get an invite as a blogger

Missing the motion where the Green’s will complain according to today’s Irish Times (subs required)

The Greens will also strongly support “the fundamental and unquestionable human right” of same-sex couples to marry and complain about “the continuing failure” to treat them equally. Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan is working on a Civil Partnerships Bill, which will given legal, property and pensions protections to same-sex couples, but not allow a marriage ceremony. Urging Mr Lenihan to draft such legislation, the motion said a constitutional amendment should be put to the people if it is found in the future that the legislation breaches the existing Constitution.

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Or so the feeling will be amongst many in the lesbian and gay community. Fianna Fáil are also failing children in this situation if this morning’s Irish Times lead on the 200 pages of legislation on civil partnership and recognition of cohabitants is to be believed. However FF never promised us a rose garden!

Remember I’m one of the ones not obsessed by marriage (I’ve already been preached at about this – pardon me for seeking equality and supporting a range of options for family recognition and diversity in Ireland. )

Back to the breaking news…

THE GOVERNMENT is finalising legislation on civil partnerships that will extend many of the same benefits and legal obligations of marriage to same-sex couples, writes CARL O’BRIEN , Social Affairs Correspondent.

However, it will not provide any right for same-sex couples to be considered as joint adoptive parents, despite a strong campaign by gay equality groups.

Under the heads of the new Civil Partnership Bill, which runs to more than 200 pages, same-sex partners will be able to to avail of marriage-like benefits in a range of areas such as property, social welfare, succession, maintenance, pensions and tax.

The dissolution of civil partnerships will also mirror marriage in that applications to dissolve such unions may only be made once both parties have been living apart for four out of the previous five years, just as with traditional divorce applications.

It looks like Green Party officials are fighting to keep any shred of political respect at the moment in heated discussions (well their version of heated discussions – resists urge to make solar powered joke here cos that would be juvenile.)

However, it is understood that last-minute negotiations are ongoing between Green Party and Government officials on whether some form of legal recognition can be provided for gay couples who already parent children, but who have no mechanism to establish a joint legal connection with their child.

So lesbian and gay couples who don’t already parent children but plan to do so in the future won’t be covered? Lock up yer ovaries. Actually maybe that’s the Iona Institute who are trying to help the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform hold the keys?

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