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Roundup In October 2013, the Australian Capital Territory parliament passed a bill that made the territory the first area of Australia to allow same-sex marriage. In Canberra, 31 same-sex couples were married over a five-day period (between 7th – 12th December 2013), once the law came into effect. However, the law was over turned by Australia’s High Cour t after the national government challenged the decision. This meant that all 31 marriages were revoked. One year later, the world helped the couples to celebrate their one-year anniversaries using the hashtag #5DaysofEquality on social media to send them messages of love and suppor t. The Shunkoin Temple in Kyoto has become the first Zen-Buddhist temple in Japan to officially offer marriages for same-sex couples. The temple welcomes every couple, regardless of religion or sexual orientation. Takafumi Kawakami, a priest at the temple said, “It’s not like we have to keep tradition the way it is […] we welcome every couple regardless of their faith or sexual orientation.” As Japan does not legally recognise same-sex marriage, the ceremonies only hold symbolic meaning. According to the Pew Research Center survey, 54% of Japanese people suppor t LGBT rights, while only 36% remain opposed. Scotland’s same-sex marriage law officially came into effect during December 2014. As well as allowing same-sex couples to marry, the law also meant that existing civil par tnerships could be conver ted into marriages. Father Mar tin Dolan came out as gay during mass and received a standing ovation from his congregation. During the service, Father Dolan urged parishioners to vote in suppor t of Ireland’s upcoming same-sex marriage referendum. Father Dolan has been a priest at the Church of St Nicholas of Myra in Dublin for 15 years, and his decision to come out in front of worshippers has been praised by various gay equality groups in Ireland. Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1, Leo Varadkar became the first member of Ireland’s government to come out as gay. During the broadcast, Varadker stated, “I am a gay man. It’s not a secret.” Speaking afterwards, the Health Minister said, “I am still the same person. To me it is not a big deal; I hope it is not a big deal for people. There are people a lot braver than me, but I wanted to do it. I suppose I felt, as a public figure, I should say it. I want the next generation to feel that they don’t have to do an interview like this.” Politicians in Chile gave the final approval to a bill recognising civil unions between same-sex couples. The bill was passed by 86 legislators in the Chamber of Deputies, while 23 voted against, and 2 abstained. The bill will be passed on to President Michelle Bachelet, who is expected to sign it. In a rally organised by The Rainbow Project, over 1,000 people took to the streets of Belfast city centre on Saturday 31st January 2015 to protest against the DUP’s conscience clause bill. The private member’s bill, which was proposed by Paul Given, states that business owners can refuse service to a customer if it goes against their religious beliefs. The bill has been labelled discriminatory by various gay rights groups, as well as Amnesty International. Similar demonstrations took place in Derry and Newry.
December 7-12 #5Daysofequailty
December 9
Japan temple weddings
December 16 Scotland
January 3
priest comes out
January 18 Health minister
January 29 Chile unions
January 31
#noconscienceclause