by Rex Wockner
International News Briefs
Some 5,000 people marched from Dublin City Hall to the Justice Department on Aug. 9 demanding that the Irish government abandon a proposed civil partnership bill and instead legalize same-sex marriage.
Activists say the partner bill, which is expected to be in effect by the end of the year, formalizes second-class status for gay couples.
Civil partnerships would differ from marriages in areas that include inheritance, taxation and children's rights, gay activists have said.
