We all desperately need some good news today, and so here we are: same-sex marriage is now officially legal in Ireland after the nation became the first to legalize marriage equality by popular vote in May.
Despite that landmark, there was no law in place yet, because writing up laws about massive social progress takes time, I guess. As of today, The Marriage Act 2015 has gone into effect, and though the BBC reports that it’s currently unknown when and where the first same-sex marriage in Ireland will occur, any same-sex Irish couples who got married in other countries now have that union recognized in Ireland by default!
Orla Howard, who married her wife, Dr. Grainne Courtney, in the United States in 2013, told the BBC, “It’s a terrific moment, because our marriage will be the same as any straight couple’s marriage from Monday morning. It will bring all of the rights and protections that marriage brings, from the constitutional point of view, to our family and that’s one of the key things for us.”
Any couple in Ireland that is currently in a civil partnership now has the option to switch to a marriage, and civil partnerships will no longer be available. Meanwhile, the country’s churches are still free to be party poopers and refuse to wed the happy, loving couples in their faith, but at least they can’t stop equal rights.
(via Boing Boing; Image via Guimo on Flickr)
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