Current legislation in Ireland only allows marriage between heterosexual couples. Gay couples are being offered civil partnership rights, but for gay couples who want to marry, as well as for those who want equal rights to apply to all citizens of the state, this is totally unacceptable.

One of the most vociferous and energetic proponents of the Marriage Equality campaign is the singer and songwriter Michele Ann Kelly. As she told Hot Press, “The Irish constitution guarantees equality to all citizens. Therefore there is an obligation on the government to allow same-sex couples to marry in the same way as heterosexual couples can marry. But we’re talking here about civil marriage before the law, not religious marriage before the Lord. It’s a basic civil right we’re demanding, a right that should be available in any modern society.”

Indeed Ireland shamefully lags behind other, more civilised countries where same-sex marriage is a legal entitlement. As Andrew Hyland of Platinum PR points out, “Same-sex marriage is now legal in Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Spain, The Netherlands, Canada, South Africa, Nepal and in six states in the USA.”

Kelly underscores her argument by referring to research conducted by Lansdowne Market Research showing that 81% of the Irish public agree that everyone should receive equal treatment from the state, regardless of their sexuality. 61% believe that denying lesbians and gay men civil marriage is a form of discrimination.

Some less informed people might presume that the recent civil partnership bill, as proposed by Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform Dermot Ahern, should be enough to satisfy the needs of same-sex couples, but Kelly dismisses this out of hand.

“Civil partnership does not give the same marriage rights to lesbian and gay couples. In fact, the civil partnership bill discriminates against gay couples and their children. A same-sex couple still won’t be able to adopt a child, even if one member of that couple is the parent of the child they’re seeking to adopt. It’s totally discriminatory, unjust and flies in the face of the Irish constitution. That’s why we’re demanding that the Government give us civil marriage without further delay.”

Although the incompetence and idiocies of our Government should have inured us citizenry by now against almost any absurdity they might propose, or any underhand skullduggery they might indulge in for political capital, it’s still hard to understand why they are so set against full equal rights for gay couples. It’s not as if there’s any active campaign against it, although there is the likelihood that some spineless members of the legislature are still in hock to the Catholic hierarchy.

But as Kelly says, “I’m not aware of any outright opposition to equal rights for gay couples. Even the loony right in the Catholic Church haven’t had much to say about it. But even if they do, this is something that gay couples are constitutionally entitled to, and we don’t want to be fobbed off by some yellow-pack version.”

Kelly’s commitment to the cause will see her bring up the issue, both on-stage and off, throughout her current Money Back Guaranteed tour of the country. In fact the success of her ‘Time’ single and her triumphant appearance before 7,000 at the recent Pride event in Dublin has encouraged her to bring the launch of her debut album Songs That Saved My Life forward to late September. But she’s also keen to enlist to support of other musicians for the campaign, and has coined the term M for ME (Musicians for Marriage Equality).

As she explains, “Any musicians, both gay and heterosexual, that I’ve spoken to about this have been hugely sympathetic. I think it’s important that Marriage Equality is not seen as a campaign that only concerns the gay community. We need the support of heterosexuals in this too. To confine our activities and to target only the gay community would be as ill-judged as to run a campaign against racism and only target black people. This issue is really about all people deciding that they want Ireland to be a fair and just country for everybody to live in, irrespective of race, creed or sexual orientation. But as human beings we often tend to ignore things that are not immediately relevant to us, so there is a danger that heterosexuals might, without any malice whatsoever, simply feel that this campaign has nothing to do with them. But I firmly believe that this is an issue for all citizens.”

It’s understandable that the heterosexual community might need to be educated and encouraged to feel that this is an issue that they should respond to, but might that also be said of some sections of the gay community?

After a pause for thought, Kelly agrees. “Probably. There may be individual gays or gay couples for whom marriage is not a personal issue. So we need to make sure that they too are aware that as citizens of this country, they have a vested interest in ensuring that the law treats everybody with equal respect. That certainly is not the case where marriage for gay couples is concerned, and that needs to be changed without further delay.”

Michele Ann Kelly’s current single ‘Time’ is available now from download.ie and full information on the Marriage Equality campaign can be accessed at www.marriagequality.ie