The Social Democrats policy document LGBTI+ Justice and Equality will be launched in Limerick today by General Election candidate Jenny Blake.
Jenny, who played a key role in the Marriage Equality campaign in Limerick in 2015, said,
“I joined the Social Democrats because I see it as the party that has the most empathy and understanding for the LGBTI+ community. I have seen firsthand the impact that activism and legislative change can have on people’s lives because I was able to marry my wife Ann after the success of the Marriage Equality campaign. I am dedicated to working for legislation which further supports the rights and wellbeing of everyone in the LGBT+ community in Limerick and Ireland”.
Party co-leader Catherine Murphy, speaking from Dublin, said,
“As a party, much of our history is rooted in and empowered by the achievements and activism of 2015. More importantly, we have the resolve and commitment to carry on the important work commenced in 2015. We will not rest until full recognition and equality is achieved for the LGBT+ community in Ireland and we look forward to continuing this work in the new programme for government.”
Blake, and the Social Democrats, are dedicated to prioritising the work needed to make Ireland safe and inclusive for everyone:
Jenny Blake continued:
“Even though we have marriage equality and gender recognition since 2015, we still need to do work to bring in adequate hate crime legislation, to make sure that all LGBT+ families are legally protected, and to take steps to address the very high rate of mental health distress among the LGBT+ community in Ireland caused by discrimination and isolation. We need gender neutral facilities in all services including those that help the most vulnerable in our communities such as homeless and mental health services.
“Our policy has at its heart the drive to support LGBT+ families and has been recognized by the organization Equality for Children, for its dedication to “continuing the work that needs to be done to ensure equality for all children of LGBT+ families”.
04th Feb 2020
[ENDS]
NOTES: The Policy Document LGBTI+ Rights is available here.