Yahoo – AFP,
October 29, 2015
Dublin
(AFP) - Same-sex marriage was signed into law in Ireland, five months after a
historic referendum saw the traditionally Catholic nation become the world's
first country to vote for gay unions.
"The
Presidential Commission today signed the 'Marriage Bill 2015' into law,"
the president's office said in a statement, paving the way for the first
weddings within a month.
Ireland
voted 62.1 percent in favour of allowing marriage between two people
"without distinction as to their sex" in May, the first time anywhere
that gay marriage has been legalised in a referendum.
The
president's endorsement was the final hurdle for the bill after legal
challenges briefly delayed the legislation from coming into effect.
Senator
Katherine Zappone, who had long campaigned for her Canadian marriage to her
wife to be recognised in Ireland, called it "a defining moment".
"It is
a deeply emotional moment for those of us who have campaigned for so
long," Zappone said in a statement.
"This
victory truly belongs to the nation, it is a moment for us all."
In a
memorable moment that unfolded live on national television after the referendum
result was announced, Zappone proposed to her wife Ann Louise Gilligan to
re-marry her under Irish law.
International
gay rights campaigners congratulated efforts by Irish activists to win public
support for a "Yes" vote in the referendum.
"Tribute
must also be paid to national politicians in Ireland, as all the main political
parties put aside their partisan differences to campaign for the greater goal
of equality," Evelyne Paradis of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Trans and Intersex Association said in a statement.
Marriages
between same sex couples that took place outside of Ireland will now be
recognised under Irish law.
Couples
already in civil partnerships, which were introduced in Ireland in 2011, will
be able to marry within weeks.
May's
referendum generated a lively, and at times divisive, debate in Ireland, which
only decriminalised homosexual acts in 1993.
"The
referendum confirmed that Irish people want a society that embraces diversity
while valuing the family and marriage," Fitzgerald said last week, as the
bill passed through the upper house of parliament.
"On 22
May 2015, the people of Ireland showed the scale of their ambition for our
society."
President
Michael D Higgins is on a visit to the United States, so in his place the bill
was signed by senior delegates of the Presidential Commission.
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