Irish gay marriage case heads to Supreme Court
Posted on February 23, 2007
Filed Under Ireland | Leave a Comment
A day after the Irish Parliament rejected a bill to legalize same-sex unions a lesbian couple is taking the issue of gay marriage to the Supreme Court of Ireland.
Ann Louise Gilligan and Katherine Zappone (pictured) are appealing a High Court ruling that their Canadian marriage cannot be recognized under the constitution.
As 365Gay.com reported Thursday, a private members bill was turned down in Parliament after the government used the court ruling as proof a clause in the constitution which says the government must protect the institution of marriage means the bill legalizing civil partnerships was unconstitutional. (story)
Zappone and Gilligan in their appeal say the High Court erred because the constitution does not specifically define marriage as only between opposite-sex couples.
Ann Louise Gilligan and Katherine Zappone, who had been together for 20 years, were married in British Columbia in September 2003 within months of the legalization of same-sex marriage there. At the time both women were working in Canada. When they returned home and tried to file a joint income tax return the Revenue Commissioners refused to recognize the marriage citing Irish law and ordered the women to file separate returns. That would result in paying higher taxes. Read more….
Source: 365Gay.com
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