Sinn Fein Foyle MLA Karen Mullan
She was speaking as Derry is set to mark the first ever digital Foyle Pride due to public health restrictions over the Coronavirus pandemic.
Said the Foyle MLA: “I want to wish Foyle Pride 2020 ‘Celebrate the Love’ every success with this year’s week-long festival going online due to the COVID19 restrictions being in place.
“The LGBTQI+ community has seen huge progress in the fight for equal rights in recent times. At the beginning of this year, equal marriage was finally legalised in the north.
“This follows the tireless work of generations of activists who refused to be deterred in their fight for their love to be recognised as equal and to see grá become the law across the island. It’s now five years since equal marriage was won in the south too, along with gender recognition.
“Ireland is changing. All around us, a new Ireland is emerging. It is an Ireland in which all our citizens now enjoy the right to marry the person you love. It is an Ireland of hope and determination.
“Yet, despite the clear progress we have seen in many areas, the struggle for full LGBTQI+ equality is far from over. Sadly, many areas of inequality continue to exist and require more work to ensure true equality is achieved.
“While we celebrate the gains we have made, I also want to take this moment to reiterate Sinn Féin’s commitment to seeing the fight through and securing full equality.
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