Interview with Peter Kelly

yellum

I sent Peter the questions that were asked between the members of Boards.ie and GayCork.com. Thank you to everyone that sent in questions. Here is what Peter sent back:

1) Have you had any input to the Same Sex Partnership legislation Senator David Norris is currently drafting ?

The short answer to this question is no. I have contacted Senator Norris to offer my assistance with lobbying the support of Fine Gael Members of the Oireachtas - but I haven’t had any direct input into the bill.

2) Do you have any reservations about the recent political appointment to the Equality Authority who publicly and enthusiastically rejected the notion of equality of legal recognition for same-sex couples ?

I have reservations about political appointments full stop. I believe that rather than rewarding political hacks with political appointments all of these state board positions should be advertised to the general public and then Oireachtas committees should interview and appoint the candidates best suited to the positions. Its ridiculous to have appointments to the equality authority who do not believe in equality - its as bad as asking the Ku Klux Klan to oversee race equality - it just doesn’t make sense.

3) Do you think there is a need for higher profile public gay figures in Ireland ? Higher profile as a way of showing people you can be gay and successful in Ireland and not high profile for the sake of getting oneself attention. All we seem to have right now are gay celebrities and they are more in the UK than Ireland.

High profile role models are essential for the development of a positive self image - but there is always the problem that this results in stereotyping of people - in the 70's the sterotype gay man was an effeminate Hair Dresser - in the 90's this changed to a beautiful muscle boy with the best of everything and impeccable taste - both in my opinions are extremes, and that we need to recognise the diversity of the gay community. I think the development of a proper RSE Programme in schools that promotes equality and understanding is likely to be more effective in giving people the confidence to succeed. My own attitude has been to live my life the way I want to - and I encourage everyone else to do the same.


4) You where previously a member of the PD's and you switched over to FG, both parties would claim to have quite different ideas how do you justify your previous political affiliations and the change that you made ?

Both parties do have a different agenda, but there are areas of policy that overlap - but I had been concerned that the PD's had lost their original reforming edge, and I was not happy with the parties role in Government - the move to individualization and this whole "Mé Féin" society is not something I was comfortable with - The attitude of the current government is very disturbing, and many people are being left behind in our society - Fine Gael has a much broader sense of community and in government supports better and broader social democratic supports for all of society.

5) Given the low esteem that politicians are held generally, due to the actions of a previous generation of politicians, and the relatively low pay that elected office brings, why did you bother at all ?

There are much easier ways to make a living - but I have always wanted to make a difference and despite eighteen years of being involved in politics - I have still managed to hang on to my desire to improve the lot of others, and the job can be very rewarding when you see the impact little things you do can have on the lives of the people you represent. The ability to make change happen motivates me much more than money - and I find life in politics much more satisfying - I knew early on in my political career that I wasn’t cut out to save the world from behind a desk - :-)


6) A lot of gay people are very apathetic about their civil rights. Are there any National Gay Organisations in Ireland that campaign for gay rights like there are in the UK ? Should gay people be more outspoken about their rights ?

There are a whole variety of National Gay Organisations - I was privileged to serve with representatives of many of those groups on the advisory committee to the equality authority in drafting its report on Implementing Equality for Gays, Lesbians & Bisexuals in Ireland - which was publish in 2002. I think its essential that everyone plays their part in the campaign for equality - Readers that are keen to get directly involved in campaigning can reach the NLGF at :

National Lesbian and Gay Federation (NLGF)
2 Scarlet Row, Temple Bar, Dublin 2; Email: nlgf@tinet.ie
(Tel +353 1 671 0939; fax 671 3549 )


7) Do you believe that more should be done to protect lesbian, gay and bisexual secondary school students from homophobic bullying from both students and the school itself ? What measures would you endorse?

Yes - I think that religious ethos exemption in the Equal Status Act should be removed. Tax payers euro pay for our education system and our education system should uphold the equality ethos of the law rather than that views of any particular religion - the RSE programme should be extended to comprehensively include education on equality and sexual orientation and I think the state should encourage and support the establishment of Gay / Straight Alliances in our secondary schools and third level colleges - similar to those that exist in the USA.


8) Will you campaign for all-inclusive sex education within the schools, including making teenagers more aware of youth groups in their area ?

Yes - see above.

9) Who are those that you deem are working hard for Gay Rights in Ireland at present ? And who should we thank for the progress thats been made so far
?

There are a whole variety of people that should be thanked for their work for Gay Rights in Ireland over the last 30 years. There are too many people involved to name everyone - but Sen David Norris's public contribution and visibility has been a very important weapon against those who would rather that gay people were invisible. We should never underestimate the impact that our own visibility as a gay person can have with our own friends and work colleagues.


10) What is Fine Gael Policy on issues affecting lesbians and gay men?

Fine Gael supports equality - Young Fine Gael has already established a LGB Group within its organisation and I would like to see one develop in Fine Gael itself - we already have a Womens Group, Trade Union Group & farmers group - so an LGB Group would make sense. At a political level - our spokesperson on equality - Sen. Sheila Terry is currently drafting equality measures covering tax, social welfare & state services - that will be published in the summer.

More questions in next post.

yellum

11) What are your views on the fact that Men who have sex with Men are banned from giving blood, when they are not banned from donating their organs ?

I believe the current policy of the blood banks is wrong - science has moved on and all blood donors regardless of their sexual orientation should have their blood donations screened. Stopping gay people from donating blood is just a form of institutionalized discrimination practiced by the state - there are other examples - Deaf people are barred from serving on Juries for example - I think all organs of state - should be equality audited and the results should bring about changes that role out equality across all nine grounds in the Equal status act in out state services.

12) How far away do you think Ireland is in regards to same-sex marriage ?

I think marriage itself may be some years off - but I expect that civil unions and other equality measures will happen a lot sooner. I hope that the Government will support Senator Norris's Domestic Partnership Bill 2004 which comes before the Seanad next month - I think this will increase the focus on the equality agenda and that it will create the momentum to bring about equality in relation to the State's approach to tax and social welfare and other equality issues.

13) What was it like to work with the Howard Dean Election Campaign ?

The Howard Dean Election campaign was really refreshing - Many of the people involved had not been involved in politics before or for many years and it really caught the imagination of people in America who are looking for change from the Bush Regime. The Dean Campaign has moved on and converted itself into a broader campaign www.democracyforamerica.com Perhaps the best example of my time in Seattle was when I got a call from an 82 year old woman in Spokane (Eastern Washington State) who was trying to download names from the Dean Intranet of people she could ring in her area to canvass for Dean. Its refreshing to meet Americans that have opinions that differ from their president or their media networks. The forthcoming presidential election campaign is likely to be a battle royale between the conservative right and the liberal left in America - Lets hope Kerry will prevail.

14) Has married life changed you ?

Not really - I have a wedding ring which reminds me everyday of the man I love - beyond that - we've been pretty settled together for many years - and celebrated 13 years together in early march - It was really good to have the big day out and the ceremony itself meant a huge amount to us both. We have both been overwhelmed by the positive response from People locally and nationally to the news - real equality will someday mean that we can get married and no one will notice.

15) What are your views on Irish gay couples adopting ?

I support the right of gay couples to adopt - the Equality Authority Report dealt extensively with this issue - I see no reason why gay couples should not be able to adopt. You get good and bad parents in the straight community and I suspect the same will be true of gay couples - A number of gay couples have been able to foster children in Ireland and I believe that they should be able to adopt.