Gay marriage vetoed by Democratic Unionists

NORTHERN IRELAND remains the only part of the UK where gay marriage is illegal, despite a narrow majority of politicians at Stormont voting to support its introduction this week, writes Sarah Mac Donald.

The motion seeking a change in the law was passed by a majority of 53 to 52 MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly). However, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) stymied any change in the law by invoking a special veto, a petition of concern, which it had tabled ahead of the vote. The unionist party, which was founded by Revd Ian Paisley and is closely linked to Free Presbyterianism, argued that the motion did not have enough cross-community support.

Under the terms of the petition, the vote required separate majorities of both unionists and nationalists to succeed.

A petition of concern is one of the instruments introduced after the Belfast Agreement in 1998 to assist in the operation of power-sharing in Northern Ireland and was intended to ensure that neither unionists nor nationalists dominate their counterparts.

The motion to legalise gay marriage was brought forward by the SDLP and Sinn Féin and supported by the majority of nationalists but was opposed by a majority of unionists. The action by the DUP means the motion is blocked until it achieves the support of a sufficient number of unionists as well as nationalist MLAs.

Ahead of the vote in Stormont on Monday, the Catholic bishops of Northern Ireland wrote to MLAs warning that the motion failed completely to protect the future of Catholic services.