In an editorial posted Sunday, The
New York Times accused Northern Ireland's Unionist Party of
“abusing” a power sharing agreement to derail a gay marriage
bill.
Last month, a fifth attempt to approve
a law that would bring marriage equality to the sole part of the UK
where gay couples are excluded from civil marriage failed.
While the proposed bill narrowly
cleared the region's parliament, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP),
the largest party in the Stormont assembly, torpedoed the legislation
with a “petition of concern,” which blocks bills not widely
supported by leading parties.
Times editors called the move “a
mean-spirited abuse of the power-sharing agreement that had achieved
peace in the North after the violent struggles between unionists and
nationalist communities.”
“The party, which has strong
Protestant roots and a significant number of evangelical members,
involved the peace agreement's 'petition of concern' clause, which
can be used to block legislative measures during political
emergencies to protect community and minority rights,” the
Times
explained. “Of course, there is no emergency, and the abuse
here is the Unionist Party's devious subversion of legislatively
approved rights for gay, lesbian and transgender minorities.”