‘Is the Irish Constitution (1937) relevant in a modern Irish Society?’ ‘Marriage Equality in Ireland’ The 1937 Constitution is one the oldest written constitutions in Europe, and has most definitely stood the test of time. It is fundamental to the State and is regularly referred to as a living document as it is what we as a country live by and from this, it must constantly be in date with the people and culture of Ireland, meaning seventy-seven years on, it is time for a change. Society changes every day, it has changed an unimaginable amount in seventy-seven years since the drafting of our constitution. There are many areas needing redrafting in the constitution, women’s rights, abortion, family rights to name just a few. In this essay, I am going to focus on the area of marriage equality in the constitution, focusing on the provision of same sex marriage, or lack of. Marriage holds a privileged place in the constitution and among society, however there is no definition of marriage in the constitution. Article 41 in the constitution guarantees the rights of the family, which is specifically defined as a family based on marriage, however this raises the question, what about same sex marriage? Same sex marriage has no provision or mention in the constitution, except for the fact that it is forbidden, does this mean that these couples, which are growing more common throughout Ireland today, have no right to a family? If there was ever a provision that needed to be updated, this was it. Surely it is completely inhumane and against everything our country stands for denying people these rights to marriage, you cannot deny any couple, same sex or not the right to have a family or their right to marriage. This goes aga... ... middle of paper ... ...mily status at all. Currently, this is one of the topics stated in the Constitutional Convention for discussion; this in itself shows how important this topic is in being resolved. On a recent submission to the Convention, a proposal was suggested to put the issue of marriage equality to the people of Ireland in a referendum, by doing this it was suggested that a clause be entered into the constitution after article 41.3.1 providing that “no two people may be lawfully prevented from marrying each other by reason of their gender.” This would exclude any further marriage inequality as well as legalizing same sex marriage. I personally think, this step is what our county needs in order to move forward; after all it is the people who will ultimately decide on how we confront these challenges and it is to the people that the challenges should be given.
Consistancy in Britain's Policy in Ireland in the Period 1798-1921 Social policy – in the 1830’s, Ireland had the best health Land and Economic policy – land issues were ignored until 1870: - first land Act – irrelevant - second land Act – political rather than economic - Wyndham Act – the government was becoming less and less convinced that property was the ‘bedrock of civilisation’ – it was the product of a shift in mentality. - 1890’s – HUGE economic reforms Political policy – consistently ignored or opposed any nationalist movement Concession/coercion – always a combination. However, there were more concessions as the century wore on. Religious policy – after 1829, the government was always prepared to grant religious reforms – e.g. the abolition of tithes in the 30’s, the Maynooth Grant and Charitable Bequests Act in the 1840’s, the Disestablishment of the Church of Ireland in 1869.
The constitutional right of gay marriage is a hot topic for debate in the United States. Currently, 37 states have legal gay marriage, while 13 states have banned gay marriage. The two essays, "What’s Wrong with Gay Marriage?" by Katha Pollitt and "Gay "Marriage": Societal Suicide" by Charles Colson provide a compare and contrast view of why gay marriage should be legal or not. Pollitt argues that gay marriage is a constitutional human right and that it should be legal, while Colson believes that gay marriage is sacrilegious act that should not be legal in the United States and that “it provides a backdrop for broken families and increases crime rates” (Colson, pg535). Both authors provide examples to support their thesis. Katha Pollitt provides more relevant data to support that gay marriage is a constitutional right and should be enacted as law in our entire country, she has a true libertarian mindset.
The Constitution is the foundation of our county it represents liberty and justice for all. We are able to live freely and do, as we desire because of the constitution. The constitution was, signed September 17, 1787 at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. It took time and many debates were held before an agreement was achieved in both the drafting and ratification of the constitution. These disagreements came with several compromises before the constitution was fully ratified on May 29, 1790, with Rhode Island being the last and the thirteenth. The First, challenge was the Articles of Confederation; it was a sort of a draft of the Constitution but was weak and inadequate. Second, obstacle was the Anti-Federalists fight for more
For a document written in a mere one hundred and sixteen days, it is quite amazing that the United States Constitution still plays an integral role in the government. However, this document, like many important governing papers, has come with controversies and arguments since its establishment as a set of principles with which to govern states. The Constitution of the United States, created in 1787, arose from a need of a new document after the Articles of Confederation that could assert more control over the states. A product of the Constitutional convention, the Constitution laid out the framework for a popular government with checks and balances as well as a separation of powers. Since the Constitution is a relatively short document given
Same sex marriage may seem, to some, a crazy idea as marriage in this country is built on the foundation of a man and a woman marrying, but Sullivan points out that until recent centuries marriage was a contract into which a woman entered so that she would be controlled by her husba...
The constitutional convention began in Philadelphia on May 25, 1787. The thirteen colonies involved at the time we ruled under the Articles of Confederation. The articles however became weak had flaws that the founding fathers noticed quickly with the states appearing to have individual power. On September 14, 1786 a meeting was established that gave out a call for the upcoming grand convention. Attendance was a huge issue in congress. The delegates from those states believed that is they didn’t show up then nothing can happen, but everything happens anyways. After the Annapolis meeting, selected delegates from the colonies met in Pennsylvania. They had to create and make new laws for the constitution; such as, establishing a unified currency.
In order to legitimise a regime or cause, traditions may be constructed around historical or mythological events, people or symbols that reinforce the image required to focus people’s conception of the past. People can be encouraged to invent a cohesive view of their shared ‘traditions’ by what could be called cherry picking bits of history.
Same-sex relationships have always been a controversial legal issue, and there has been a variety of legal and non-legal responses, coming from a range of different viewpoints regarding the issue. In recent years, there has been many law reforms recognising same sex relationships, which include changes to Medicare, tax, social security, superannuation, worker’s compensation, child support, and allowing people in same-sex relationships to adopt children. These legal reforms come about as a result of extensive lobbying by non-government groups and organisations designed to promote the recognition of same-sex relationships in Australia.
The Canadian Constitution, is the supreme law of the land, has evolved countless of times throughout history. Within this paper, I will focus on two vital dates: The Constitution Act of 1867 and 1982. Canada’s Constitution Act is made up of written laws (statutes), conventions and Canadian court decisions (Mcconnell, W. H. 2015). The Constitution Act of 1867, was formerly known as the British North American Act (NBA), together with amendments made to it since enacted, became the Constitution Act of 1982. Immigration is one of the few areas covered in the Constitution that gives both federal legislators and provincial legislators to enact laws.
The issue of gay marriage needs little introduction as it is one of the most widely contended and discussed topics in the United States of America. While the issue is relatively recent one has to question why this is even an issue to begin with. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. Arguments come from both religious groups, as well as secular focused sources. Reasoning against gay marriage ranges from religious immorality, to the idea that giving gays the right to marry would support minoritarianism (giving minority special privileges and advantages in either a legislative or societal capacity). There are countless arguments besides those mentioned, few of which have any substantial grounds to stand on. Gay marriage causes no political or communal grief, except for those who strongly oppose it now. Even for those people gay people exist either way. Whether they are married or not will not change that and their lives will not be dramatically changed from it. Gay marriage has no valid reason to be outlawed and there are plenty of reasons to allow it.
Ryan T. Anderson discusses the legal status of same-sex relationships in his article “In defense of traditional marriage” (2013). He contends that marriage is defined historically, socially and legally as existing between a man and a woman and should remain so defined for the benefit of society. Anderson is correct in his historical interpretation of marriage; yet present day usage would imply that the definition of marriage is undergoing a social change which should be reflected in the law.
Irish family law has been formulated around the concept of the family as a married heterosexual couple who conceive children within wedlock. This has resulted in the non-marital family not enjoying the full protections of the law. It has only been in the last decade that these families have started to be included in Irish law. It is interesting to examine this development in light of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Indeed, up until the late 1980s, there was no legal recognition of same-sex relationships in any of the European jurisdictions. While marriage is becoming increasingly available for same-sex couples in Europe, there still remain many jurisdictions where there is no legal recognition. This essay seeks to examine the extent to which the ECtHR has been an impetus for the recognition of the non-marital family in Irish law. Marriage will be discussed here in the context of the basket of rights it bestows. The legal recognition of the non-marital family has implications for different areas of Irish law, such as immigration, adoption, succession.
The following essay will look at the main areas of difference between the Irish Constitutions of 1922 and 1937. There are many reasons why the Constitution was redrawn and changed in 1937 after first being drawn up in 1922. The 1922 Constitution was made after a time of serious turmoil in Ireland and needed to be upgraded by the late 1930’s. There are a number of reasons why it needed to be transformed. It was outdated by the 1930’s and as Ireland began to grow and move away from the influence of the British, the laws of the time did not reflect the culture of the day. Another reason why it was changed was the very strong relationship between the Irish people and the Catholic Church. Finally there was also changes in the running of the country
The recognition of same-sex marriage is a political, social, and religious issue. Because of this same-sex marriage is a very controversial topic. Legal acknowledgement of same sex marriage is commonly referred to as marriage equality. Many advocates of marriage equality argue that laws restricting marriage to only heterosexuals discriminate against homosexuals. On the other hand advocates against same-sex marriage argue that it would undo long-standing traditions and change the meaning of marriage in a damaging manor. In this essay I will be arguing for same-sex marriage. The arguments mentioned as well as others will be discusses throughout this paper.
Article 41 of the Constitution identifies the rights of the family (based on marriage) (Cronin and Duggan et al., 2013, p 28-33) and identifies the state as the primary unit in society. The State promises to protect the family and guard the establishment of marriage, on which the family is established. According to the Supreme Court Article 41, which states the rights of the family, sees the family only based on marriage and therefore only the marital family is thus entitled to the protection and guarantee of Articles 41 and 42 (The Case for Constitutional Change, 2007). Article 42 declares that parents have an “inalienable right and duty … to provide, according to their means, for the religious and moral, intellectual, physical and social education of their children”(Cronin and Duggan et ...