Civil Partnerships Promised for Gays
From Times Wire Reports
Ireland will legalize civil partnerships for gay couples, Prime Minister Bertie Ahern pledged.
Civil partnerships give gay couples the same rights to inheritance, state benefits and other financial advantages as married heterosexual couples.
Ahern said it would be difficult to legalize gay marriage in Ireland, where the constitution has a clause requiring the predominantly Roman Catholic state to protect the institution of marriage.
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