Equal rights will do no harm to marriage
Gay partnerships are about equality, not sameness. While the comparison with unmarried heterosexual couples is often made, the reality is that unmarried heterosexual couples have the right to become married if they wish, and to partake in the benefits of marriage.
Likewise Rónán mentions the case of the brother and sister - the comparison is not really valid as familial relationships confer rights similar to marriage such as next-of-kin and succession rights.
A recent study of the treatment of lesbian and gay couples by NHS staff in Britain has shown that the next-of-kin concept is misunderstood and gay partners are routinely denied visitation rights, to give one example. It is difficult to condone Rónán's suggestion that this is "legitimate discrimination".
I fail to understand why a domestic partner who has possibly been in a relationship for many years can be denied such rights when some lesbians and gays, sadly, still experience total alienation from their families.
Rónán correctly points out that "it costs a lot to provide tax, pension and social welfare benefits to couples", but does not take into account that many of these rights are paid for as taxpayers by gay people who effectively subsidise married straight people with benefits they themselves may not be entitled to.
Besides, to confer partnership rights on gay couples would actually reduce expenditure - currently gay couples are treated as two single people, so a gay couple on social welfare is actually currently entitled to more than a married couple, who receive slightly lower levels of benefit. To recognise the relationship would actually reduce expenditure!
While it may be true that "cohabitation is more unstable than marriage", perhaps part of the reason for this in the case of gay couples is the difficulty of operating as a couple in a society deeply hostile to gay relationships, and which has a vested interest in the continued hostility against gay couples.
In fact, the only real threat to marriage comes from within, from heterosexual people who enter lightly into marriage or disregard promises made. This has nothing to do with gay partnership, and is in no way threatened by it.
Laura Farrell
Woburn Place
Lower Glanmire Road
Cork.
