Ireland: Official Says Public Places Must be Open to Gay Couples for Civil Partnerships

MINISTER OF State for the Office of Public Works Martin Mansergh warned that public facilities should not be closed to gay couples seeking to obtain a civil partnership. Some proposals, he said, had been made for what would, in effect, amount to discrimination, namely, that offices of the State should be allowed to withhold, or not participate in, civil partnership ceremonies. “My view is that if one takes up a public appointment, one must carry out the duties that the law prescribes, and those duties will change from time to time as the law changes,’’ said Dr Mansergh. “We should not give sanction, effectively, to homophobia for conscientious reasons.’’ Dr Mansergh was speaking during the resumed Second Stage debate on the Civil Partnership Bill 2009. Full Story from the Irish Times

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