Omagh Pride to demonstrate at council meeting next week

THE organisers of Omagh Pride have invited people to take part in a demonstration outside a meeting of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council (FODC) on Tuesday.

The demonstration has been organised in reaction to the news that FODC will be the first council in the North to implement the provisions of the Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of a woman.

The council confirmed that they will be issuing new guidance on changing rooms and toilets because it understands that trans women using single-sex female facilities will be contrary to the Supreme Court ruling.

A spokesperson for FODC said, “The Council will be developing new guidance for the use of changing rooms at leisure facilities and toilets further to the Supreme Court ruling. It is understood that the Equality Commission NI intends to issue written guidance on this matter, and the Council will be cognisant of this.”

In response to this, the organisers of Omagh Pride have said that they were ‘dismayed and angered’ by this decision and will lobby the council this Tuesday at Enniskillen Town Hall to ‘defend trans rights’ at 6.30pm.

A spokesperson for Omagh Pride told the Tyrone Herald, “Following high-profile media coverage that Fermanagh & Omagh District Council would be “implementing the provisions” of the Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of sex, Omagh Pride calls on the LGBTQ+ community and allies to join us in standing up for trans rights at the upcoming Council meeting on Tuesday in Enniskillen.

“We have engaged with council representatives who have confirmed that there are no current plans to implement new policies on single-sex spaces. We have been informed that a statement on this issue will be made at the upcoming meeting, and we’ll be listening closely to what is said. Omagh Pride sent a draft motion on this issue to councillors which, due to procedural issues, cannot be moved on Tuesday, but we hope that its contents will inform the statement.”

They added, “Given the detrimental impact the transphobic Supreme Court ruling is already having in Britain, Omagh Pride feels it is important that we send a clear, public message to our elected representatives that trans people’s identities must be respected and trans rights must be upheld. We understand that an injury to one is an injury to all and that by standing up for trans rights, we are standing up for our entire community and all groups who face discrimination and marginalisation.”