UNISON march for equal marriage

Today UNISON marched with LGBT activists and supporters to demand equal marriage in Northern Ireland.

Crowds gathered in Writer’s Square in Belfast and marched to City Hall, where speakers called upon Stormont to return to office and bring Northern Ireland in line with the rest of the UK and Ireland on this issue.

Sara Canning, the partner of murdered journalist and LGBT rights campaigner Lyra McKee, led the march alongside thousands of supporters. Sara addressed the crowd and demanded that politicians change the law in Northern Ireland.

“Lyra and I wanted to get married, surrounded by our families and friends, because we shared a love which meant we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. But, as things stand, the law in Northern Ireland says that the love that Lyra and I shared is not equal.

“It is unbelievable, and simply unacceptable, that in 2019, this discrimination is allowed to continue in any part of the UK or Ireland.”