Where your money goes
MarriagEquality is a single issue organisation working for equal marriage rights for same sex couples in Ireland.
Currently approximately 10% of the population have no freedom to marry and therefore have no access to the ordinary rights that are afforded to married couples such as spouses' pensions entitlements, inheritance rights, taxation and social welfare benefits or even visitation rights if their partner is in hospital
We are working on four main strategies to change this inequality experienced by same sex couples all over Ireland:-
- Litigation strategy - where we publically support the Zappone and Gilligan case for recognition of their Canadian marriage here by the Irish State through raising awareness of the issues within the legal community and with the general public with the help of legal experts;
- Communications strategy - where we work with the media to increase visibility of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people(LGBT) all over Ireland, and make the case for equality with stories of real people and how their lives are affected by the continuing discrimination.
- Mobilisation strategy - In our "Out to your TD" project, we encourage our supporters to engage with our law makers on a grass roots level i.e. visiting their local representatives, to ensure that there is demonstrated support for change from the public and that public representatives are made aware of this. We have a over 1,500 supporters and a team of 12 volunteers who call them with details of how to visit their local representatives, what to expect at a visit, explanations about why only marriage will give same sex couples equality and the differences between civil marriage and civil partnerships.
- Political strategy - where we work with public representatives through meetings, information sharing and invitations to events, to ensure that legislative change is implemented as an outcome of all the activities undertaken under the various strategies set out above and/or the Zappone and Gilligan case.
We need you to invest in human rights. We cannot let equality and rights slip, even in an economic climate like todays. This is the time we need them the most. Equality and rights promote mature democracies and ensure political and civil stability. You can help this by making civil marriage rights and equality for lesbian and gay couples a reality. Not only will it have a positive effect on civil society, boost Ireland's reputation internationally as a leading light in equality matters, it will also give the economy a much needed boost.
Studies in the U.S. have shown the actual and potential boost to State economies as a result of marriage equality. For example, in California in May 2008, 18,000 couples got married in the period until November 2008. Experts estimated in June 2008 that same sex couples marrying in California would boost the Californian economy by €63.83 million over three years. If the average Irish wedding costs €35,000 imagine how much money could be pumped into our economy if same sex couples could marry here?
Here are just some of the projects that we would like to do this year, but we cannot do it without your help:- .
- LGBT Families Conference (leading on to ground-breaking research in this area)
- Poster campaign - Different Families, Same Love
- ‘Tie the Knot' Campaign (as seen worn at the Oscars this year)
- Postcard Campaign - 40 years of LGBT Rights since Stonewall - See how far we've come?
- Re-Launch of our TD Campaign
- Further polling and research on attitudes in Ireland and experiences of LGBT people
- Legal Conference - with international speakers
MarriagEquality has already been very successful with the work we have undertaken. Even at this early stage we have had a significant impact in changing hearts and mind of the public, politicians, members of the legal community and members of the LGBT Community themselves. We have worked hard to carve out a respected profile for the organisation and have achieved a huge amount in a very short space of time. We need your financial assistance to continue our work and you can rest in the knowledge that you have contributed to making a difference, to a campaign that will end discrimination against same sex couples, our families and our children in a very real and lasting way.