Blogging about Bertie
Further Update: Creature @ State of the Day and I have been emailing today where I attempt to explain something about the role and status of the Catholic Church in Ireland and the reality that is the same sex partnership recognition debate. I also got into a bit of rant on modern Ireland. He posts some of my email to him on his blog. I’m sure not everyone will agree with what I said but I think it’s important to deconstruct some of the overseas news reporting on Bertie Ahern’s visit and his words and actions so far on lesbian and gay rights.
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Apart from the news coverage of the launch of GLEN’s new offices and workplan, Bertie’s visit and speech are being covered internationally by bloggers.
Queerty says that ‘Ahern's pledge is especially significant because Ireland's constitution is tied to the Roman Catholic Church, and there is a specific provision that states the Irish government must protect "the institution of marriage" as one man and one woman.’
I don’t think that’s quite correct but they probably think we all ride about on donkeys, cutting turf and eating spuds or something.
Andrew Sullivan gives Bertie his Quote of the day spot.
Hothouse says
‘As we read the short AP piece about Ireland’s support move towards civil partnerships for gay couples, we noticed several things that would never happen in the United States. First, Prime Minister Bertie Ahern himself announced the plan, saying, “Sexual orientation cannot, and must not, be the basis of a second-class citizenship.” That would never happen here. Second, he made the announcement as he personally opened the new offices for Ireland’s biggest gay rights group. Surely, you must be joking. Third, he said that the government intended to overcome the problems with the Irish constitution which contains a clause “requiring the predominantly Roman Catholic state to protect the institution of marriage.” Allowing religious dogma to determine the course of civil life? Oh wait, sorry that does happen here. So one for us.’
Em... actually we are swimming in announcements and reports on this stuff, for years, we’ve been told that we don’t want marriage by our government, that we would need a referendum that would not be won, that they can sort us out whilst giving all sorts of relationships rights like brothers and sisters and that these things take time.
Bertie was out on his usual Monday open a bookies or a pub thing…yesterday it just happened to be the queers. Sure his speech was good, he was the first prime minister to do it and he can’t go back on in terms of stating his aspirations and respect but nothing new was really said and no timetable agreed to. And we have an election next year so as per usual nothing much will happen.
The spin on this is amazing. Next thing Bertie will be winning the Outspoken Award from IGLHRC or something. (MR actually did something to win her one).
Saying and doing are two very different things.
Technorati search on Bertie Ahern here.
Updates: EWI drew my attention to Best of Both Worlds who were far more on the money than anything else stateside.
Creature @ State of the Day is embarrassed to be American.
People, this is Ireland. Home of the strictest Catholics around. If they can embrace different sexual orientations, why can't we?
Anyone else want to tell him about the strict Catholics? Or the embracing?
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Apart from the news coverage of the launch of GLEN’s new offices and workplan, Bertie’s visit and speech are being covered internationally by bloggers.
Queerty says that ‘Ahern's pledge is especially significant because Ireland's constitution is tied to the Roman Catholic Church, and there is a specific provision that states the Irish government must protect "the institution of marriage" as one man and one woman.’
I don’t think that’s quite correct but they probably think we all ride about on donkeys, cutting turf and eating spuds or something.
Andrew Sullivan gives Bertie his Quote of the day spot.
Hothouse says
‘As we read the short AP piece about Ireland’s support move towards civil partnerships for gay couples, we noticed several things that would never happen in the United States. First, Prime Minister Bertie Ahern himself announced the plan, saying, “Sexual orientation cannot, and must not, be the basis of a second-class citizenship.” That would never happen here. Second, he made the announcement as he personally opened the new offices for Ireland’s biggest gay rights group. Surely, you must be joking. Third, he said that the government intended to overcome the problems with the Irish constitution which contains a clause “requiring the predominantly Roman Catholic state to protect the institution of marriage.” Allowing religious dogma to determine the course of civil life? Oh wait, sorry that does happen here. So one for us.’
Em... actually we are swimming in announcements and reports on this stuff, for years, we’ve been told that we don’t want marriage by our government, that we would need a referendum that would not be won, that they can sort us out whilst giving all sorts of relationships rights like brothers and sisters and that these things take time.
Bertie was out on his usual Monday open a bookies or a pub thing…yesterday it just happened to be the queers. Sure his speech was good, he was the first prime minister to do it and he can’t go back on in terms of stating his aspirations and respect but nothing new was really said and no timetable agreed to. And we have an election next year so as per usual nothing much will happen.
The spin on this is amazing. Next thing Bertie will be winning the Outspoken Award from IGLHRC or something. (MR actually did something to win her one).
Saying and doing are two very different things.
Technorati search on Bertie Ahern here.
Updates: EWI drew my attention to Best of Both Worlds who were far more on the money than anything else stateside.
Creature @ State of the Day is embarrassed to be American.
People, this is Ireland. Home of the strictest Catholics around. If they can embrace different sexual orientations, why can't we?
Anyone else want to tell him about the strict Catholics? Or the embracing?
posted by Maman Poulet @ 4/04/2006 06:35:00 p.m.
5 Comments:
You may want to include Best of Both Worlds on that list, Suzy. It may not get as much attention as it deserves here, but it's often-quoted in the US.
Hi, Creature here from State of the Day, I feel silly, I'm obvioulsy missing something, help?
It's the strict Catholics that do the embracing...
...of under-age boys.
I have emailed Creature but Twenty Major sort of wraps up my hundreds of words of rant quite nicely.
At least we are getting somewhere. Yeer man was right. Would geogre bush open a gay rights group office.
Also whats wrong with the right. I remember hearing that we have some of the biggest social welfare payments in Europe
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