Heaviliy Catholic Ireland is poised to pass civil partnerships, which would give gay and lesibian couples many of the same rights as marriage:

Ireland’s lawmakers opened debate Thursday on a bill to grant marriage-style rights to gay couples, a social milestone in a country long observant of Roman Catholic opposition to homosexuality.

Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said the bill would give gay couples the same rights as married heterosexual couples on questions of property ownership, inheritance, medical care and access to state benefits — and also the same right to go to court seeking financial support from higher-earning partners when relationships fail.

Ahern noted that the proposal would have been unthinkable only a few years ago in Ireland, a country that defined homosexuality as a criminal offense until 1993.

He said denying the reality of thousands of gay couples in Ireland “only helps to reinforce prejudice in our society.”

Ireland’s lawmakers opened debate Thursday on a bill to grant marriage-style rights to gay couples, a social milestone in a country long observant of Roman Catholic opposition to homosexuality.

Read more in the Associated Press.