Global Courant
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, one of the country’s first two openly lesbian elected governors and a descendant of Irish immigrants, has been invited to address the Irish Senate on Tuesday to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Ireland’s decriminalization of homosexuality .
In 1993, Ireland passed a law decriminalizing homosexual acts. It would take the predominantly Catholic nation another two decades before legalizing same-sex marriage in 2015.
“As the granddaughter and great-granddaughter of Irish immigrants and the first openly LGBTQ+ governor of Massachusetts, I am honored to be invited to address Seanad Éireann on the importance of developing our economic ties, championing our values and protecting of the rights of everyone in our communities,” Healey said in a written statement.
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Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage, as a result of a Massachusetts Supreme Court decision in 2004, more than a decade before the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015.
Maura Healey, Governor of Massachusetts, smiles at a ceremony in the House Chamber on Jan. 5, 2023, in Boston. Healey plans to address the Irish Senate on 27 June 2023 to help commemorate the 30th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in Ireland. (Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool, File)
The trip also coincides with the 60th anniversary of a state visit to Ireland by another Democrat from Massachusetts – President John F. Kennedy – which helped usher in an economic and cultural partnership between the two countries.
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Healey’s agenda on the week-long trip, which begins and ends in Dublin, also includes business development meetings with Irish technology and clean energy business leaders on her visit, which doubles as a trade mission, her first since taking office in January.
Healey’s pitch is that Massachusetts has a lot to offer that Irish companies will find attractive, from the state’s “world-class education and research institutions to our advanced biotechnology and clean energy sectors to our commitment to protecting civil rights and liberty.”
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Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll will serve as acting governor during Healey’s trip.
