December 4th, 2009
From Irish Central
Irish Justice Minister Dermot Ahern refused to allow party colleagues to abstain or vote against a new bill legalizing civil partnerships for gay couples.
He banned the so-called “freedom of conscience” clause for colleagues to defy the government and vote against the bill.
With other minority parties supporting the bill, it is expected to pass.
Latest Posts
Featured Reports
In this original BTB Investigation, we unveil the tragic story of Kirk Murphy, a four-year-old boy who was treated for “cross-gender disturbance” in 1970 by a young grad student by the name of George Rekers. This story is a stark reminder that there are severe and damaging consequences when therapists try to ensure that boys will be boys.
When we first reported on three American anti-gay activists traveling to Kampala for a three-day conference, we had no idea that it would be the first report of a long string of events leading to a proposal to institute the death penalty for LGBT people. But that is exactly what happened. In this report, we review our collection of more than 500 posts to tell the story of one nation’s embrace of hatred toward gay people. This report will be updated continuously as events continue to unfold. Check here for the latest updates.
In 2005, the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote that “[Paul] Cameron’s ‘science’ echoes Nazi Germany.” What the SPLC didn”t know was Cameron doesn’t just “echo” Nazi Germany. He quoted extensively from one of the Final Solution’s architects. This puts his fascination with quarantines, mandatory tattoos, and extermination being a “plausible idea” in a whole new and deeply disturbing light.
On February 10, I attended an all-day “Love Won Out” ex-gay conference in Phoenix, put on by Focus on the Family and Exodus International. In this series of reports, I talk about what I learned there: the people who go to these conferences, the things that they hear, and what this all means for them, their families and for the rest of us.
Prologue: Why I Went To “Love Won Out”
Part 1: What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Part 2: Parents Struggle With “No Exceptions”
Part 3: A Whole New Dialect
Part 4: It Depends On How The Meaning of the Word "Change" Changes
Part 5: A Candid Explanation For "Change"
At last, the truth can now be told.
Using the same research methods employed by most anti-gay political pressure groups, we examine the statistics and the case studies that dispel many of the myths about heterosexuality. Download your copy today!
And don‘t miss our companion report, How To Write An Anti-Gay Tract In Fifteen Easy Steps.
Anti-gay activists often charge that gay men and women pose a threat to children. In this report, we explore the supposed connection between homosexuality and child sexual abuse, the conclusions reached by the most knowledgeable professionals in the field, and how anti-gay activists continue to ignore their findings. This has tremendous consequences, not just for gay men and women, but more importantly for the safety of all our children.
Anti-gay activists often cite the “Dutch Study” to claim that gay unions last only about 1½ years and that the these men have an average of eight additional partners per year outside of their steady relationship. In this report, we will take you step by step into the study to see whether the claims are true.
Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council submitted an Amicus Brief to the Maryland Court of Appeals as that court prepared to consider the issue of gay marriage. We examine just one small section of that brief to reveal the junk science and fraudulent claims of the Family “Research” Council.
The FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics aren’t as complete as they ought to be, and their report for 2004 was no exception. In fact, their most recent report has quite a few glaring holes. Holes big enough for Daniel Fetty to fall through.
Chris McCoy
December 4th, 2009
I’m not Irish, and I don’t have an in-depth understanding of Irish law, but this is surely unethical.
People should be allowed to vote their conscience, even if we disagree with the results.
Representatives can rally under the banner of “I didn’t want to vote for it, I was forced to.”
Forcing people to vote against their conscience, against their will, will only increase animosity towards the glbt community.
This isn’t victory. This is cheating.
Gavino
December 4th, 2009
This isn’t news. Strong party discipline is bog standard in parliamentary systems when it comes to executive driven legislation. Indeed, one could say that one of the reasons Europe is ahead of the US on relationship recognition has a lot to do with the nature of the party systems in Europe.
Burr
December 4th, 2009
As was said this is how parliamentary systems work. People vote for parties, not candidates, so if a member defies his party and the coalition, it’s violating the people’s desires and not properly representing them. Cheating in this case would be if some broke party ranks to vote for this.
Timothy (TRiG)
December 9th, 2009
If a Fianna Fáil TD wants to vote against this, he can. The price for that will be that he will be thrown out of the party. It’s called parliamentary whip. Standard practice. It’s suspended on some bills, but not on this one.
TRiG.
Leave A Comment