A Northern Ireland teen, in a “wee political rant,” asks his government why his parents can’t marry. Good question.
Darragh Tibbs, 15, of County Down, wrote to his Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), Gordon Dunne, who voted against marriage equality last year. After writing to Dunne about why, and receiving no reply, Tibbs created a video, which he calls a “wee political rant,” asking more publicly why Dunne does not support marriage equality. Tibbs notes that the rest of the U.K. allows same-sex couples to marry. Northern Ireland, despite being the first country in the U.K. to offer civil partnerships, does not.
Tibbs says in his video:
To me, it seems perfectly reasonable that a democratic government should try and give all its citizens the same legal entitlements. It seems perfectly reasonable to me that my parents, who have been in a stable relationship for 21 years, who have two sons, should be supported by their own government. What gives you the right to take from my brother and me the right to legal protection for our family? … Why do you not believe that every single constituent of yours is equal?
He asks Dunne for an explanation, and not just an impersonal reply. In his well thought-out video, which combines a personal appeal with pointed passages from the Assembly’s Code of Conduct, he shows debate skills similar to that of another teen with same-sex parents who spoke out for his family: Zach Wahls. The YouTube video of Wahls’ speech before the Iowa House in 2011 went viral twice. I wouldn’t be surprised if the same happens here. Watch: