'Exported' Strategy Falls Flat in Irish Lesbians' Marriage Case
by Ed Thomas and Fred Jackson
December 21, 2006
(AgapePress) - - An attorney for a pro-family First Amendment law firm says a decision by the High Court of Ireland rejecting recognition of same-sex "marriage" was affirmed on several points similar to those in U.S. law -- and defused a strategy that's now being explored outside of America.
Ireland's High Court last week rejected a bid by a legally married lesbian couple to have that marriage recognized in Ireland. The two women were legally married in Canada and subsequently returned to their home in Ireland to argue that, because homosexual marriage is internationally accepted, the Irish marriage law should be re-evaluated.
But Justice Elizabeth Dunne rejected that argument, saying marriage was understood under the 1937 Irish Constitution to be confined to persons of the opposite sex. She further stated that "having regard to the clear understanding of the meaning of marriage in the numerous authorities opened to the court ... I do not see how marriage can be redefined by the court to encompass same-sex marriage."
In her 138-page ruling, Justice Dunne also expressed concern about the effect of same-sex marriage on children, saying the lack of conclusive research into the results of homosexual parenting made it necessary to reserve judgment on the issue.
Brian Fahling is senior trial attorney with the Center for Law & Policy, the legal arm of the American Family Association. Fahling recognizes quite well the tactic employed by the Irish couple -- because it mirrors the same approach used by homosexual activists in America.
"What we see happening is the American strategy is being exported to other countries, if you will," notes the attorney. "They go to Canada to get married, and then they hope to have that recognized through the courts in Ireland."
The courts, he says, have become "the entity of choice for radical homosexual activists to accomplish their goal." And that goal, he maintains, is to force homosexual marriage on society as a norm. But Fahling believes that, as it did in Ireland, the strategy may backfire in other countries -- just as it has in the U.S. as citizens grow tired of activists using the courts to circumvent marriage laws.
Ed Thomas and Fred Jackson, regular contributors to AgapePress, report for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
