The Assembly of Northern Ireland
has rejected a marriage equality motion presented by the Green Party and Sinn Fein.
If it had passed, the proposal would not have prompted a change in the law but would have ramped up pressure on the power-sharing administration to examine the issue. Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community (LGBT) held a picket outside Parliament Buildings ahead of the debate. Urging all sides of the House to support the call, the Assembly's sole Green Party member Steven Agnew said same-sex couples were being denied fundamental rights, such as the ability to adopt a child, under the current civil partnership legislation.
Only three out of the 45 Assembly
unionists voted in favor of the motion.
