Ireland's new same-sex marriage law comes into force from Monday, six
months after the country voted to allow gay unions in a historic
referendum.
Existing same-sex marriages registered abroad will be
immediately recognised in Ireland, while other couples can now submit
their intention to marry.
"I felt I didn't have permission to say
we were married but from now we will say it at every opportunity," said
Vivian Cummins, 57, from Dublin who married his partner Erney in South
Africa in 2009.
"I would never really admit by choice to being married because I didn't feel married in this country," he told AFP.
In
May, Ireland voted 62.1% in favour of allowing marriage between two
people "without distinction as to their sex", the first time anywhere
that gay marriage has been legalised in a referendum.
It was a
long journey for LGBT campaigners in the traditionally Catholic country
that only decriminalised homosexual acts in 1993.
"After years of
waiting for this day, it's just an extraordinary moment for us," said
Senator Katherine Zappone, who lost a High Court case in 2006 to have
her Canadian marriage to her wife recognised in Ireland.
The
couple plan to bring their "marriage home" in a ceremony in January
after Zappone proposed to her wife Ann Louise Gilligan live on national
television after the referendum result was announced.
A total of 2
054 couples have entered a civil partnership since Ireland introduced
the legal unions in 2011 but a further ceremony will be required to
convert these into marriage, with just a few days notice.
Under Irish law, it is required to submit an "intention to marry" to authorities three months before a marriage.
Longest engagement on Earth
Those already in civil partnerships will only have to give five days notice under the new rules.
And
the 187 couples who have applied for civil partnerships since the
referendum will be able to get married instead, from as soon as Monday
in some cases.
"I think it's going to be massive," said wedding planner Marian Purcell of Gay Weddings Ireland.
Purcell
has 15 same-sex weddings booked already and "a lot more in the
pipeline" with enquiries from couples in America, Slovenia, Italy and
England.
"It's going to be very exciting in the future. I don't
think it will die down after the initial few, everyone loves a good
wedding," she told AFP.
"People are seeing Ireland in a new light as an LGBT friendly country for honeymoons and holidays too."
But
after a long campaign and several milestones, as the new legislation
worked its way through parliament, campaigners are looking forward to
weddings beginning.
"I suspect people must now be feeling like
this is the longest engagement on Earth," said Colm O'Gorman, chief
executive of Amnesty International Ireland and one of the leading "Yes"
campaigners.
"We are at last at the stage where people are just getting on with their lives and marriages can happen."
Monday, November 16, 2015
Ireland gay marriage law comes into force
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