Latest news with #OmaghPride
Belfast Telegraph
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
First Pride parade takes place since Executive parties deemed ‘not welcome'
The first Pride parade in Northern Ireland has taken place since large swathes of the LGBT community banned Stormont's Executive parties from marching for 'betraying' them. Omagh Pride held the first march since the 'politician ban' after the Executive voted to introduce an embargo on the sale and supply of puberty blockers to under-18s.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
First Pride parade since 'politician ban' to take place
The first Pride parade in Northern Ireland since the Stormont Executive parties were banned from attending will take place in Omagh later. Organisers from Omagh Pride have said politicians from Sinn Féin, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Alliance and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) are "not welcome" after they voted to introduce an indefinite ban on the sale or supply of puberty blockers to under-18s. Belfast Pride and Foyle Pride have also asked those parties not to attend their events later in the summer. Daniel Waldron, the chairperson of Omagh Pride, says he does not want political parties using the event as a "photo opportunity" after "attacking" LGBT rights. In February Green Party leader Mal O'Hara called for the four parties in the executive to be banned from walking in Pride parades, saying they had "betrayed" the LGBT community. Shortly afterwards a number of Pride events including those in Lurgan, Causeway, Mid & East Antrim and Foyle all announced the parties would not be invited. Belfast Pride consulted with their community before announcing they would also be doing the same. Omagh Pride is the first pride of the season in Northern Ireland and will the first parade that those parties will not be present at. Sinn Féin, Alliance and the UUP have all previously had representatives attend and walk at Omagh Pride. "I don't think that we can allow politicians to use pride as a photo opportunity when in practice they are attacking the rights of LGBT people," Mr Waldron said. "If they get away with driving back the rights of trans and non-binary people then they will want to attack the rights of the LGBT community as a whole and other vulnerable and marginalised groups." It is understood individuals have not been banned from Omagh Pride, rather political parties are not permitted to walk in the parade as a formal group. Omagh Pride told BBC News NI there will be a group of council staff marching in the parade and and that a council officer will be "saying a few words before the start of the parade". Omagh Pride also told BBC News NI that Fermanagh and Omagh District Council awarded them £1,000 funding. In May Fermanagh and Omagh District Council apologised for "causing hurt" by a statement in which it said it would develop guidance for the use of toilets and changing rooms. It followed a Supreme Court ruling on the definition of gender, which applied in Britain but not Northern Ireland. Mr Waldron said the "backlash globally and locally" means this year's event was more important than ever. "Pride is a celebration of identity of culture and so on, but also it is a protest and it is about standing up for our rights and fighting for genuine equality and also resisting any attempts to push us back to the dark days," he added. The Omagh Pride parade has been running since 2021 and Mr Waldron said the event had been transformative for the LGBT community in the county. "Omagh Pride has contributed to a changing atmosphere in the town," he said. "There is more LGBTQ+ visibility and we're developing a really strong local LGBTQ+ community with things like book clubs, board game nights, cinema nights that create a bit of a social space for LGBTQ+ people to come together and to socialise." The door is still open if the political parties wanted to attend the parade in future, he said. "If Stormont and the executive rescind their decision and reinstate access to gender affirming care then we'll look at it again and if they change their position those parties may be welcome again in the near future," Mr Waldron said. Until the ban in Northern Ireland, puberty blockers were only available on NHS prescription for under-18s for young people who were accepted onto the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Gender Identity Service endocrine pathway prior to March 2020. Puberty blockers are drugs used to delay or prevent puberty happening and have sometimes been prescribed to children questioning their gender. Hormone suppressors also remain available for patients receiving the drugs for other uses, such as early-onset puberty. The move to ban puberty blockers came after a report into children's gender services - the Cass Review - said there were "gaps in evidence" around the drugs. The review was led by leading paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass and prompted the previous UK government to ban the use of puberty blockers for under-18s questioning their gender – a move which was then supported by Labour when they won the election. Council chief apologises after gender ruling statement Political parties banned from some NI Pride events Puberty blockers to be banned indefinitely in NI Political parties banned from some NI Pride events
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Omagh Pride: Politicians 'not welcome' at County Tyrone parade
The first Pride parade in Northern Ireland since the Stormont Executive parties were banned from attending will take place in Omagh later. Organisers from Omagh Pride have said politicians from Sinn Féin, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Alliance and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) are "not welcome" after they voted to introduce an indefinite ban on the sale or supply of puberty blockers to Pride and Foyle Pride have also asked those parties not to attend their events later in the summer. Daniel Waldron, the chairperson of Omagh Pride, says he does not want political parties using the event as a "photo opportunity" after "attacking" LGBT rights. In February Green Party leader Mal O'Hara called for the four parties in the executive to be banned from walking in Pride parades, saying they had "betrayed" the LGBT community. Shortly afterwards a number of Pride events including those in Lurgan, Causeway, Mid & East Antrim and Foyle all announced the parties would not be invited. Belfast Pride consulted with their community before announcing they would also be doing the same. Omagh Pride is the first pride of the season in Northern Ireland and will the first parade that those parties will not be present at. Sinn Féin, Alliance and the UUP have all previously had representatives attend and walk at Omagh Pride. "I don't think that we can allow politicians to use pride as a photo opportunity when in practice they are attacking the rights of LGBT people," Mr Waldron said."If they get away with driving back the rights of trans and non-binary people then they will want to attack the rights of the LGBT community as a whole and other vulnerable and marginalised groups."It is understood individuals have not been banned from Omagh Pride, rather political parties are not permitted to walk in the parade as a formal group. Omagh Pride told BBC News NI there will be a group of council staff marching in the parade and and that a council officer will be "saying a few words before the start of the parade".Omagh Pride also told BBC News NI that Fermanagh and Omagh District Council awarded them £1,000 May Fermanagh and Omagh District Council apologised for "causing hurt" by a statement in which it said it would develop guidance for the use of toilets and changing rooms. It followed a Supreme Court ruling on the definition of gender, which applied in Britain but not Northern Ireland. Mr Waldron said the "backlash globally and locally" means this year's event was more important than ever."Pride is a celebration of identity of culture and so on, but also it is a protest and it is about standing up for our rights and fighting for genuine equality and also resisting any attempts to push us back to the dark days," he Omagh Pride parade has been running since 2021 and Mr Waldron said the event had been transformative for the LGBT community in the county."Omagh Pride has contributed to a changing atmosphere in the town," he said."There is more LGBTQ+ visibility and we're developing a really strong local LGBTQ+ community with things like book clubs, board game nights, cinema nights that create a bit of a social space for LGBTQ+ people to come together and to socialise." The door is still open if the political parties wanted to attend the parade in future, he said."If Stormont and the executive rescind their decision and reinstate access to gender affirming care then we'll look at it again and if they change their position those parties may be welcome again in the near future," Mr Waldron said. Until the ban in Northern Ireland, puberty blockers were only available on NHS prescription for under-18s for young people who were accepted onto the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Gender Identity Service endocrine pathway prior to March blockers are drugs used to delay or prevent puberty happening and have sometimes been prescribed to children questioning their suppressors also remain available for patients receiving the drugs for other uses, such as early-onset move to ban puberty blockers came after a report into children's gender services - the Cass Review - said there were "gaps in evidence" around the review was led by leading paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass and prompted the previous UK government to ban the use of puberty blockers for under-18s questioning their gender – a move which was then supported by Labour when they won the election.
ITV News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- ITV News
Fermanagh and Omagh Council chief apology over plans for Supreme Court gender ruling
The chief executive of Fermanagh and Omagh Council has apologised for any hurt caused by a statement that said the council planned to implement the provisions of the Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of a woman. The council said it would be developing guidance for the use of changing rooms and toilets at leisure facilities. A small protest was held outside the council building in Enniskillen by Omagh Pride ahead of Tuesday night's meeting in support of the transgender community. The meeting was also told that no formal decisions have been made and the council will be reviewing its policies in light of the judgment. It said it will wait for Equality Commission's guidelines that are set to be published in June. Last month, the UK's highest court ruled the terms 'woman' and 'sex' in the 2010 Equality Act 'refer to a biological woman and biological sex'. The case was brought against the Scottish Government by the campaign group For Women Scotland. Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.
