Easter is on the horizon and with it will come the annual 1916 Rising commemorations around the country.
Once it passes the build up to the centenary of that now famous event in our history will begin.
Ireland has come a long way in the last 99 years. The country has certainly had its ups and downs since then but that’s all the more reason why it’s good to reflect on the words of the Proclamation every now and then to see how far we have strayed from the ideals of its seven signatories, who summoned Irishmen and Irishwomen to strike “for her freedom.”
The Republic of Ireland that the Proclamation dreamt about guaranteed “religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all citizens and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and all of its parts, cherishing all the children of the nation equally.”
Of course, that statement was more in relation to Ireland achieving freedom than anything else but its words still have meaning almost 100 years on.
The country goes to the polls on May 22nd to vote on marriage equality.
Thankfully we have come a long way over the years and it’s now recognised that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are part of our society.
They are no different to any of us. We all come in different shapes and sizes, have different beliefs and different personalities. That is all openly accepted, so why shouldn’t marriage equality?
After all the Proclamation didn’t seek to omit anyone when it spoke of “equal rights and equal opportunities for ALL citizens.”
The document might be from a time that only a very small portion of our population can actually recall but it was forward thinking enough to mention “Irishmen and Irishwomen” at a time when women had little or no say.
That was one injustice that was overcome and on May 22nd we can take another huge step towards creating a greater nation by voting Yes.
We all deserve a bit of love in our lives.
Why should anyone be denied something that most people dream about from a young age?
We live in a country of equals with a constitution that entitles each and every one of us to amongst other things: personal liberty, freedom of expression, the right to fair procedures, the rights of the family and equality before the law. Surely, our constitution is not being fairly enforced if people in our LGBT community are being denied the right to love one another.
It’s time to remove one of the last few barriers of inequality in our society.
Hopefully by the time Easter 2016 comes around we will be able to bin the phrase ‘gay marriage’. Marriage is marriage, just as love is love.
No one chooses their sexual preference, but you can choose to support the choices of others.
Talk of the Town is delighted to proclaim our support to the Yes campaign for the forthcoming Marriage Equality Referendum on Friday May 22nd 2015.
We don’t often get to play a part in changing the course of our country’s history. Now is your chance.
Talk of the Town 