Our editor Connor Daly has been talking with Americans about Northern Ireland’s problems.

“In Ireland you guys passed the referendum on gay marriage, right?”

“Well, no. That was in the Republic. In Northern Ireland, a majority of politicians in our legislature voted in favour of it but it was blocked by the largest party, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), using what’s called a Petition of Concern – a mechanism which is supposed to protect groups’ rights. Ironically, it’s been abused by the DUP to deny same-sex marriage legislation.”

“That’s crazy! But you’re in the UK? Is it not legal there?”

“It is. And the raison d’être of the DUP, funny enough, is to maintain the Union between Northern Ireland and Britain. On things like Brexit they say they don’t want to be treated differently to the rest of the UK, but on same-sex marriage and abortion they’ve pretty much cut us off from the rest of the UK and Ireland.”

I had this same conversation many times during a recent trip across the USA. Beyond the awkward Q&As I managed to learn a few things myself. In Washington, DC, I met Gregory Angelo, President of the Log Cabin Republicans – LGBT Republicans and straight allies seeking to build a more inclusive Republican party from the inside. I wanted to know how US political parties have become more inclusive of LGBT rights in recent decades and what challenges the LGBT community continues to face. The comparison between progress made by US Republicans and the refusal of the DUP to move on LGBT rights and same-sex marriage was stark.

Also clear was the potential for big business to influence reluctant politicians to bring about change.

Remember when DUP leader Arlene Foster attended Pink News’s LGBT event at Stormont this summer? Remember she was invited by CitiBank and, as reported by the Irish News, she told the media of her plans to attend before formally confirming with its organisers? Some were sceptical, and how could they not be – Foster accepted three months after the invitation was sent, following “back and forth” discussions between party officials. Could big business play a role in moving the DUP to the point of, if not embracing homosexuality, not choosing to block same-sex marriage again at Stormont? If the US example is anything to go by, definitely – but this must go hand-in-hand with activism of unionists.

“It takes some doing,” said Angelo on the potential for changing the DUP’s stance, but there’s probably no coincidence that the party leader chose to attend a Pink News event sponsored by a major investor. Since the 1970s Log Cabin Republicans have sought to educate and lobby Republican candidates for public office on LGBT issues, bringing corporate America along on their journey. To change the mindset of parties like the DUP, Angelo said, you’ve got to harness corporate influence.

Even when the nation-wide legislation of same-sex marriage in the US looked inevitable in 2015 – the same year as the Irish referendum passed – it still faced opposition from US Republicans. Not least, this came from then Governor of Indiana, now US Vice President Mike Pence, who signed into law a religious freedom bill interpreted as legally protecting business owners from discriminating against same-sex couples they didn’t want to serve. That’s when big businesses stepped in – threatening Pence and his state  that they’d cancel plans to invest, or leave Indiana altogether unless the bill was changed. Wouldn’t you know, a week later Pence signed a revised version of the law.

Angelo highlighted other instances across the US where mounting pressure brought about LGBT non-discrimination legislation. This begs the question: in Northern Ireland who will bring pressure to bear on the DUP? The Log Cabin ideals of liberty and equality aren’t exactly the party’s strongest points. Changing demographics shouldn’t make for comfortable reading – more younger pro-union Protestant voters are turning away from the social conservatism unionism offers – and with every year more businesses in Belfast are becoming more vocal in their support of LGBT rights. The likes of law firms Baker McKenzie and Pinsent Masons, as well as others like M&S and even the Civil Service this year came out to celebrate Belfast’s Pride march. The DUP were conspicuous by their absence.

Northern Ireland shouldn’t be an anomaly when it comes to access to basic human rights on these islands. The opportunity exists for businesses to lend their influence but the onus ultimately lies with LGBT advocates to educate and lobby their political leaders and harness this leverage of allies when doing so.

 

Also published on Medium.