Madam, - The legalisation for same-sex marriage in the state of California is to be welcomed unequivocally. It is timely that this should happen during the Dublin Pride Festival, thereby serving to emphasise the comparatively underdeveloped state of Irish law in this area.
Support for the introduction of civil unions between same-sex couples has been official Progressive Democrat policy since 2005, when I successfully proposed a motion on the topic to the party's national conference.
The introduction of a civil partnership Bill is now also official Government policy following our negotiation of last year's programme for government. That Bill is now being drafted and the Progressive Democrat party will remain vigilant to ensure there is no slippage in either its contents or the timing of its introduction.
The passing of this Bill into law will make a practical contribution to the lives of many couples, but it must be only a stepping stone to full marriage equality.
Equality, freedom of choice and respect for individual rights are cornerstones of the PD philosophy and I look forward to the day when all constitutional and other legal issues will have been addressed to allow for full same-sex marriage in Ireland. - Yours, etc,
TONY WILLIAMS,
National Executive Member,
Progressive Democrats,
South Frederick Street,
Dublin 2.