Secular Ireland?

gawker

I think it's a sad indictment of where we still are when the following three parties are invited to speak against the rights of LGBT families at the Convention:

• Evangelical Association Ireland - which aims to "See the Kingdom of God permeate every area of Irish society"
• The Catholic Bishops Conference - which enables bishops to "share their wisdom" with wider society
• The Knights of St. Columbanus - whose motto is "To restore all things in Christ"

None of these organisations have any expertise in families, the legal predicaments they face. One even has a disgustingly poor record when it comes to children's rights. Yet these are the three groups who will be speaking at the Constitution Convention this weekend. These are being given a direct line to those who will shape our constitution, and the rights of many citizens, for many years to come.

I guess it's at least encouraging to know these are perhaps the three groups who are left standing against LGBT rights. No non-religious body seems to be aghast at the idea of marriage equality like they are.

Does anyone think we'll ever be in a place where the "Knights of St. Columbanus" are not called any time something like this comes up? Where the Government consults bodies depending on their expertise rather than how angry they are about a topic?

BTW, I know someone might say that they have a right to their say. True, they do. But I don't see why they have a right to present to the convention when they have no qualifications or expertise on the issue and plenty of organisations who do will not be there.

Is there any other civil rights issue where these three parties would be invited to say rights should be withheld? Any at all?

magicbastarder

if i was a sensible person running a convention like this, i'd guess that not inviting (or refusing a request from) the KOC would give them a bigger platform to shout from (about their views not being represented, etc.), than inviting them and letting them have their say.

gawker

magicbastarder wrote: »

if i was a sensible person running a convention like this, i'd guess that not inviting (or refusing a request from) the KOC would give them a bigger platform to shout from (about their views not being represented, etc.), than inviting them and letting them have their say.

Sure, perhaps. But they absolutely had the right to make submissions like every other organisation and citizen. I just can't see any qualifier whatsoever that makes them an authority on the rights of families and children.

Knasher

I wouldn't consider that being invited to the convention implies that they are an authority on anything. Rather that they represent enough people as a group who claim an interest in this issue. In my view, being secular would mean that this is all that is required to warrant an invitation. However being secular would also mean that any religious arguments wouldn't be given any extra credence beyond personal preference.

magicbastarder

was there an application process?
even so, whatever panel decides who can and can't speak will probably be at pains to ensure that the 'never in my lifetime' side are seen to have their say. if they were being cute, they probably would have invited the most extreme of the groups, to better rule out their objections.