Clementine Yost | Online Magazine Editor
A referendum on marriage equality has been scheduled for 2015, and long-time advocate of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender rights, the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) is set to begin campaigning in the coming year. The USI hopes to convince wary Irish voters that civil marriage should extend to gay and lesbian couples.
“It is high time that Ireland stopped talking about an equal society and started delivering on it.”
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Since the 1970s, the USI has supported LGBT causes throughout Ireland. The campaign for the decriminalization of homosexuality, one of the most notable LGBT campaigns in Irish history, enjoyed USI support throughout the 1990s, especially in 1993 leading up to the final ruling. In 2012, the USI Congress voted unanimously to mandate a supportive stance on marriage equality from the union.
The decision to hold the referendum has prompted encouraging statements from Joe O’Connor, President of the USI. Recently, O’Connor declared, “USI will accept nothing short of full marriage equality for LGBT citizens, and following the recent announcements regarding a referendum in 2015, we will be campaigning heavily over the coming year for this to be held and passed. This is an issue that students across the country feel extremely strongly about, and we will be utilizing our new Student Elector Registration Database (SERD) to mobilise students across the country for this forthcoming referendum.”
With a history of lobbying for LGBT rights, the USI intends to gather across-the-board support for what they hope will be a monumental campaign, perhaps one of the largest social campaigns in years.
O’Connor further stated: “It is high time that Ireland stopped talking about an equal society and started delivering on it. Marriage equality would be a fundamental step forward, and we would encourage all citizens to play their part in making this a reality.”
