Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending Northern Pride in Newcastle-Upon Tyne. I was shown around the town by a friend, the sun was blazing and the cider was ice cold, so we decided to take part in the parade. As we joined the throngs of revellers waving rainbow flags alongside drag queens and carnival creations I couldn’t help but notice that one thing was lacking from the parade route: protesters.

Yes that’s right, I couldn’t get my head round why this parade was going so smoothly, why were there no pickets along the street? Beside city hall? Outside the churches we passed? I looked several times and couldn’t see them, concluding that I must have missed them. I asked my friend if there had been protesters ever before and she looked at me as though I was nuts. I guess coming from Belfast you tend to expect certain things that other places consider bizarre, such as Christians protesting a gay pride march.
Every year the Sandown Presbyterian Church sends a delegation to hold placards reading slogans about Sodom and Gomorrah, telling us that we are all going to Hell, that we are an abomination. These people aren’t alone, for their views are shared by many, including our very own First Minister.

As part of the UK, Northern Ireland has a track record for being the worst country in the British Isles for LGBT rights, being the last nation in the Union to lift the ban on homosexuality in 1982. Direct Rule brought us protection against workplace discrimination based on who we love, equal access to IVF treatment, the right to change legal gender, the ability to serve openly in the military, legal protection from hate crime, rights of access to goods and services and the first Civil Partnerships took place in Belfast in 2004. But this myriad of equality legislation stopped as soon as the Northern Ireland Assembly was re-established in 2007.

Our Health Minister, Mr. Edwin Poots MLA and member of the DUP, has recently refused to lift the ban on gay and bisexual men from donating blood, despite his counterparts in Scotland, Wales and England replacing the ban with a 12 month deferral period. Due to the nature of legislation in place, same-sex couples in a Civil Partnership are forbidden to adopt children and raise a family and future Health Minister Jim Wells MLA described those taking part in Belfast Pride as ‘repugnant’, and the issue of same-sex marriage has drawn a line in the sand for political parties in NI as Scotland, England and Wales all have plans to legislate in favour of such a measure.

With Belfast Pride less than a week away, can we really call it Belfast ‘Pride’? For what does NI have to be proud of when it comes to the LGBT community? Our Assembly hasn’t passed a single piece of legislation in its five years that enshrines the rights of the LGBT community in law. The Grand Master of the Loyal Orders (which also forbids Catholics from joining) recently declared that they are opposed to equal marriage as it will do ‘untold damage to civilization as we know it.’

Though things are changing slowly but surely. More Governments than ever are moving to legalise same-sex marriage, such as Scotland, New Zealand and even Vietnam. The USA has seen a massive swing in support for the issue, as President Barack Obama told the world earlier in the year that he was in favour of marriage equality, and his party (The Democratic Party) are set to officially endorse the move. Our neighbours, the Irish Republic, look set to legalise same-sex marriage some time in the next five years as all major political parties have adopted positions in favour of the measure.

The NI Executive recently launched ‘Our Time, Our Place’ as a means of celebrating all of the events taking place in NI this year, such as the Titanic commemoration, the Irish Open or the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Ulster Covenant. With the world changing around it, Northern Ireland will have to move with the times or face the prospect of losing its modern image of peace, inclusiveness and equality. While things right now aren’t as good as they should be, progress can be frustrating or unprecedented in its speed, however progress is progress and it should be welcomed. Both Belfast City Council and Omagh Council have both passed motions declaring their support for same-sex marriage. The Department of Employment and Learning is now funding a project aimed at raising awareness of the difficulties LGB people face in the workplace and Belfast Pride remains the largest LGBT festival in Ireland. Northern Ireland is part of the EU, and I believe it also only a matter of time before the European Court of Human Rights recognises the right of marriage between same-sex couples, and Northern Ireland’s homophobic political parties and organisations will have to realise that they can no longer stand in the way of equality and progress.

Things aren’t as good as they could be, but they are better than ever before.

Some of you may have been aware of the announcement yesterday by the Real IRA and Republican Action Against Drugs that they will merge to form the 'IRA', which will also comprise smaller extremist groups (mostly armed) and former members of the Provisional IRA. In 2012 this news is of course shocking, unsettling and unwelcome as any armed campaign by either Loyalist or Republican dissidents threatens the lives of innocent people and the progress of the peace process.

The RIRA was notably the most active and prolific Irish Republican group throughout the late 1990s, and were responsible for the Omagh bombing which claimed 29 lives, and the murder of 2 British soldiers at Masserene Barracks in 2009, as well as a string of non-fatal bombings and shootings since 1998 to present day. Having rejected the peace process, the RIRA continue to be the largest threat to the stability that we now have in Northern Ireland, and to the good relations that have been fostered since the Good Friday Agreement. Their announcement that they will effectively cease to exist and instead enter into a grand coalition with RAAD and former PIRA members as well as disaffected Republican extremists shows that they are now becoming desperate and incredibly dangerous.

These are the men and women that took 29 lives in Omagh in 1998, and turned public opinion largely against their armed campaign, it seems as though the message has failed to get through and stick permanently. They do not represent me, a democrat who wants to make a difference with my voice and a vote, not a car bomb or a rifle. Nor do they represent a anyone in this country who wishes to live without fear of intimidation from extremist fringe groups, or who wish to see Northern Ireland prosper as an equal partner in the British-Irish Council and as a member of the European Union. Times may be tough but trade links with NI are improving slowly but surely, now more than ever is Northern Ireland in a position to offer itself to the world markets as a viable investment opportunity, whereas in the dark days of the Troubles this would have been laughable.

We cannot let the unhinged and erratic, violent actions of a small group of thugs and murderers derail what this country has been able to make of itself, and of the struggle it has come through to get there. We cannot allow them to undermine the peace process and intimidate the community into believing that they offer an alternative to peace. There is no alternative to peace, for without it we disgrace the memory of those who were lost in the conflict here. The Executive might not be perfect, but the alternative isn't something that should even be considered by rational minds. This conglomeration of Republican groups does not represent me, or those who share Nationalist sentiment and a desire for peace. They only represent their own selfish interests and a time long since gone that needs to stay in the past.

With the UK and London in particular going gaga over the Olympic games which started in earnest on Wednesday (albeit with an air of controversy over the North/South Korea flag gaffe), my Twitter feed has been flooded with people chanting #TeamGB or #TeamROI/TeamIRL in support of their national teams. However seeing the patriotic hashtags has made me notice the absence of one team in particular, Team NI. 

Like so many people today, I have read about the shooting at a movie theatre in Denver, Colorado this morning, the details of which are still emerging. It has been confirmed that at least 14 people have been killed, including children, as well as 50 people injured. It is expected that the death toll could rise within the next 24 hours. I will write a blog soon on the merits of gun control legislation, and why I believe the US should implement tighter restrictions, but not today.

Only a few days ago did the Sovereign Grand Master of the Royal Black Institution, Millar Far come out against the prospect of same-sex couples enjoying equality of opportunity in civil marriage, claiming it will do 'untold damage to civilisation as we know it'. This coming from an organisation that forbids members of the Catholic Church from joining, and forbids its own members from partaking in Catholic religious ceremonies. Their approach to equality is less 2012 and more 1690, so we can take what they say with a huge dose of salt. 


Perhaps Millar Farr is frightened that once the 'floodgates' of equality are opened by same-sex civil marriages they will look further and further out of touch? 


Why are the Orange Order getting involved in this? The plans to legalise same-sex civil marriages in England and Wales do not extend to Northern Ireland, nor will it affect the institution of the Loyal Lodges being able to march and practice institutionalized sectarianism for a few days each year. Nor will it prevent Millar Farr and his ilk from taking to the stage and using a 'family friendly' event )as labelled by DETI Minister Arlene Foster) to promote ideas of intolerance, sectarianism and homophobia. 


The Orange Order and indeed their advocates in the DUP and UUP have a long way to go when they are promoting 'family friendly' events that do not include those of same-sex couples or Catholic families. Shameful.

This is my first post in a few days, however this isn't really 'my' post as I am taking the following from an article by my Lib Dem friend Stephen Glenn regarding Twitter's decision to suspend the Equal Marriage NI Twitter account for no aparrent reason. EMNI has attracted support from members of most NI political parties and some Student and charitable organisations such as SDLP Youth, members of Sinn Fein, Alliance, NI Labour, the Greens, NUS-USI, Queens LGBT Society and Amnesty International. However it also appears as though the campaign has attracted criticism from a silent minority who are seeking to undermine and destroy the campaign before it has even begun. I will let Stephen Glenn take it from here:

"Yesterday the Equal Marriage Northern Ireland campaign launched a Twitter account @equalmarriageni I know as I was one of the first 10 to follow it.

This morning if you look for that account you will find that it is suspended.

Why?

It has not been spamming people which is one of the reasons that accounts can be blocked.

Nor have any of the messages been offensive.

The only reason that many of us can assume is that somebody or some people within Northern Ireland have complained to Twitter that even having such a campaign is offensive. It is a pity that such people do not feel that they can allow a debate on this issue, but on the other hand it probably is a victory of sorts. If the opponents of Equal Marriage in Northern Ireland have to resort to censoring the debate then they must know that they are fighting a losing battle.

The Campaign for Equal Marriage here in Northern Ireland will not be silenced by a few people trying to prevent Twitter from broadcasting our views. There are enough of us as established Twitter users who will be making our points. We will also be encouraging all of you to get on board and support us. In Northern Ireland we face the toughest task of anywhere in the UK to get equality of marriage and if this is one of the early reactions to  our campaign here becoming more visible then it will only spur us on to get the message out there front and centre however we can.

We are not lying down. We will not be silenced no matter who tries to stop us being heard."

I have no doubt in my mind that this attempt to halt the campaign will only bolster its support and the enthusiasm of its members to push for marriage equality in Northern Ireland, something that is long overdue in 2012.