Sinn Fein representative Hayley Fleming
She said: “I find it ironic that Theresa May and the Tory government have chosen to address what they call an ‘imbalance’ and allow heterosexual couples in England and Wales to choose to have a civil partnership rather than get married.
“Our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters are still refused the right to marriage equality while language rights, women’s rights and the right of victims to a coroner’s inquest, rights enjoyed by citizens everywhere else in these islands continue to be denied because the British government have acquiesced to the DUP.
“If Theresa May and the British government are serious about ensuring that “all couples, be they same-sex or opposite-sex, are given the same choices in life” she must prioritise the rights of citizens in the north over Tory Party self-interest.
“Sinn Féin will continue to work to end the denial of these rights so we can have political institutions in the north with equality and rights at their core and which enjoy the confidence of the public.
“The two governments as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement must show leadership in securing and defending rights.
“The British Irish Intergovernmental Conference is the proper forum to ensure the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, to resolve the issue of rights and to address the oversight of the political process.”
