Marriage Equality: What are the Legal and Social Implications?
Thursday, March 26th 2015
9:00 – 1:00
Renehan Hall, Maynooth University South Campus
Maynooth University Department of Sociology and Department of Law invite you to join us at a symposium examining the legal and social implications of the marriage equality referendum. This cross-disciplinary symposium aims to transcend the current referendum debate and explore the potential impact of the proposed amendment on the future shape of families, family law and social policy in Ireland.
Speakers include:
- Dr Jane Gray, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Maynooth University
- Dr Deirdre McGowan, Lecturer in Law, Dublin Institute of Technology
- Dr Katherine O’Donnell, Senior Lecturer, School of Social Justice, UCD
- Dr Conor O’Mahony, Senior Lecturer in Law, University College Cork
- Dr Fergus Ryan, Lecturer in Law, Maynooth University
Abstracts are listed on the following pages.
This event has been organised by the Department of Sociology and the Department of Law.
Registration is free, but places are limited, so you must RSVP to by Tuesday March 24, 2015.
Act fast, places are limited!
Abstracts
Marriage equality and the changing significance of marriage: de-institutionalization, re-institutionalization or something else?
Dr Jane Gray, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Maynooth University
In a now classic article, American sociologist Andrew Cherlin argued that the legalization of same-sex marriage represented one aspect of its ‘de-institutionalization.’ Gay and lesbian couples must, he claimed, ‘actively construct a marital world with almost no institutional support.’ Other commentators have suggested that the relative absence (to date) of vigorous opposition to marriage equality in Ireland can be attributed to the fact that it appears to be a form of ‘re-institutionalization,’ whereby previously non-normative relationships can be brought into the fold of the ‘traditional’ institution of marriage. As increasing proportions of couples, including those with children, choose to remain unmarried in the context of civil partnership, what will it mean for marriage as an institution if the referendum is passed? Drawing on recent qualitative research this presentation will address this question through an empirical examination of the changing significance of marriage in Ireland.
The Normalising Power of Marriage Law
Dr Deirdre McGowan, Dublin Institute of Technology.
Drawing on an historical analysis of Irish Marriage Law reform since independence, this paper places the forthcoming referendum in its wider historical context. In so doing, it aims to challenge current articulations of marriage law as a source of social liberation by clarifying how it has acted, in tandem with other techniques of government, to install a detailed mechanism of surveillance and control around individual relationships, with the objective of conducting conformity in social behaviour. I suggest that, although an improvement on the discriminatory effect of the current legislative framework, the extension of marriage to same-sex couples reaffirms, rather than challenges, this normalising power of marriage law.
If Ireland Says No: Where Next for Marriage Equality?
Dr Conor O’Mahony, Senior Lecturer in Law, School of Law, University College Cork
Opinion polls for a number of years have consistently suggested that a strong majority of voters favour marriage equality and that the referendum on May 22 will be carried. However, multiple referendums in the past have seen strong early support collapse over the course of a campaign, leading to narrow victories in some cases and to defeats in others. This paper will examine the options for advocates of marriage equality in the event of a No vote in the forthcoming referendum. The picture is made more complex by the fact that the Constitution does not clearly prohibit marriage between two persons of the same sex, meaning that marriage equality could potentially be pursued via legislation or litigation. There is a strong argument that the Constitution permits legislation to be passed extending access to marriage to same-sex couples, and even an argument that the Constitution requires such an extension and renders current legislation invalid. Whether these arguments can be sustained in the aftermath of a No vote in the referendum will be explored.
An all too modest proposal? Family Diversity and alternatives to marriage in the wake of the Marriage referendum
Dr Fergus Ryan, Department of Law, Maynooth University
The marriage referendum scheduled for May 2015 addresses a very legitimate concern for LGBT communities, namely the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage. Far from being a radical proposal, this paper asserts that the referendum is a relatively modest, contained and conservative proposition, one that affirms rather than challenges the hegemonic dominance of marriage in law and society. It examines the shift in discourse within LGBT communities that has led to the referendum debate. The paper also explores the wider implications of the passage of the marriage referendum for family diversity in Ireland. In particular, it examines the potential fate of civil partnership as an alternative legal framework for relationship formation in Ireland, and explores the implications of its potential demise. The paper also addresses the Irish Constitution’s ongoing assertion that only the family based on marriage enjoys constitutional protection and recognition and asks what can be done to redirect Irish law and social policy on family diversity in the wake of the referendum.