Amnesty International Leader Calls Irish Civil Partnership Bill "Cowardly"

Civil partnership legislation planned for the Republic is cowardly, rooted in bigotry and treats gay people as second-class citizens, an Amnesty International leader has said. The organisation's executive director in the south, Colm O'Gorman, attacked the proposed legislation as he prepared to address a Gay Pride event on the subject in Belfast. Mr O'Gorman will use the annual Amnesty Belfast Pride lecture to repeat his claims that the legislation unveiled by Justice Minister Dermot Ahern last month does not go far enough. The minister has said the Civil Partnership Bill gives people in long-term and same-sex relationships many of the rights of married couples, but could not go further without breaching the Irish constitution. But Mr O'Gorman said: "At a time when countries around the world are moving forward, ending inequalities, we are enshrining discrimination in Irish law." Full Story from the AP

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