Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Couple ‘are being denied rights’ over humanist wedding
Model and footballer in challenge
A GLAMOUR model and an Ireland footballer seeking legal recognition of their humanist wedding are being denied rights afforded to religious couples, a court heard yesterday.
A barrister for Laura Lacole, 27, and Leeds star Eunan O’kane said legislation in Northern Ireland offered more generous treatment to people of faith. The couple’s humanist wedding next month will not be recognised in law and for such recognition they would need to have a separate civil ceremony. They were at Belfast High Court yesterday to challenge the status quo. Mr Justice Adrian Colton was told all the couple wanted was the same protection afforded to those of different belief systems. A barrister said: “Religious people from pagans to Free Presbyterians and everything in between enjoy a substantial legal privilege under law. “In a sense the State gives its legal blessing to such marriages.” He claimed the law “denies the same privilege to equally valid groups”. Humanism is a nonreligious belief system that rejects the concepts of a higher deity or afterlife. A lawyer said as the law stands the couple’s wedding on June 22 would be “legally meaningless”. Humanist marriages are legally recognised in Scotland and the Republic but not in England and Wales. Ms Lacole, from Belfast, and Mr O’kane, 26, from Co Derry, are taking a case against the General Register Office for Northern Ireland and Stormont’s Department of Finance. Arriving at court, Ms Lacole said: “We are both humanists so we want to have a wedding ceremony that reflects who we are as people.” Attorney General John Larkin said the applicant had failed to explain what exactly it was they wanted at their nuptials that could not be accommodated in a civil wedding. A lawyer echoed his assertion, adding “vows, music, content and venue” could be modified in civil ceremonies as long as they remained non-religious. The barrister said the only issue was the couple were unable to have their chosen humanist celebrant to marry them legally. He added any relaxation of marriage laws could “open the door” for less well-intentioned cases in the future that could devalue the institution. After the one-day hearing, Justice Colton reserved judgment. He said: “I bear in mind the imminency of the marriage and obviously all the parties would like a judgment before that.”