Campaign group Fight4Equality has organised a public conference in the Black Box, Belfast, on Saturday 8th August to step up the fight for same-sex marriage and abortion rights. The conference will be addressed by a number of high profile speakers, including outspoken LGBT activist Peter Tatchell, Mike Jackson of Lesbians & Gays Support the Miners (featured in the movie Pride) and Ruth Coppinger TD, a Socialist Party member of parliament and leading pro-choice campaigner (profiles of speakers below).
Courtney Robinson – an organiser and one of the speakers at the event – said:
“It has become abundantly clear that there is now a huge gulf between ordinary people and the politicians at Stormont when it comes to LGBT equality and a woman’s right to choose. A recent poll showed that 67% now support same-sex marriage and 20,000 people took to the streets to march for equality. Yet the Stormont politicians have rejected it four times! And it’s not just the DUP, senior politicians across the spectrum are opposed to equality.”
You can express your interest to attend the event by visiting the Facebook event page.
“The majority of people want radical change to our 154 year-old abortion legislation, yet all the main parties are opposed to a woman’s right to choose, even in cases of rape! We’ve seen women carrying foetuses with fatal abnormalities forced to travel to England to get a termination, adding to their trauma, while a mother is being criminalised for getting safe and prescribed abortion pills for her daughter.”
“The aim of this conference is to step up the fight for LGBT and women’s rights, to drag Northern Ireland into the twenty-first century. Everyone who wants to be part of that movement should come along. We’re delighted to be joined by experienced and principled campaigners like Peter Tatchell, Mike Jackson and Ruth Coppinger to discuss how we can take the fight forward. We won’t be left behind!”
Courtney Robinson is an activist with Fight4Equality and Socialist Youth. She has campaigned against Bernadette Smyth’s Precious Life group being allowed to lecture in schools. Courtney has led protests against racist attacks in east Belfast and previously served as President of Belfast Met Students’ Union.