Two couples challenge NI gay marriage banGráinne Close and Shannon Sickles, and Chris and Henry Flanagan-Kane have been granted permission for a judicial review of the Northern Ireland assembly’s repeated refusal to legislate for gay marriage. Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty’s Northern Ireland programme director, said: “Success in this case could have positive implications for thousands of other couples in Northern Ireland. Following the repeated failure of the Northern Ireland assembly to legislate for marriage equality, couples have been forced into the courtroom to demand equal treatment before the law”. The couples’ case will be heard by Mr Justice Treacy at Belfast’s high court.