Of the first case, O'Hara ruled: “It is not at all difficult to understand how gay men and lesbians who have suffered discrimination, rejection and exclusion feel so strongly about the maintenance in Northern Ireland of the barrier to same sex marriage. However, the judgment which I have to reach is not based on social

policy but on the law.”

The ruling continued: "While the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission supports an equal level of human rights protection across the United Kingdom, its Chief Commissioner wrote on 11 June 2012 that 'the restriction of marriage to opposite sex couples does not violate the international standards and this is clear from both the international treaties and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Committee.' In my view the Chief Commissioner was correct to make that statement."

O'Hara went on to elaborate that he is disinclined to overstep the jurisdiction of the Northern Ireland courts or contradict previous Strasbourg rulings. The implication in the ruling is that it is for politicians in the Stormont government to introduce same-sex marriage and not a judge.

Ciaran Moynagh, the solicitor for the Petition X couple, said following the ruling that "the work will continue" and released a statement on the couple's behalf: “Of course, we are disappointed by today’s ruling. What it shows is that more work needs to be done to explain a truth that, to us, is self-evident; the love two men or two women share is never a threat to society – in fact the world could do with a little more love today.

“Today we are calling on the mums, dads, siblings and friends of LGBT+ people to no longer remain on the side lines. Speak, write or tweet to our political leaders reminding them that the majority of people in Northern Ireland support same sex marriage. Our fight to have our love recognised continues and we will discuss our options with our legal team.”

Mr Justice O'Hara also dismissed the second case but the ruling has not yet been published. Solicitors acting for the two couples tweeted immediately after the ruling that it was "disappointing" but that their clients would appeal.

O’Hara spent over 18 months reaching a verdict on the legal challenges to the lack of same-sex marriage rights in Northern Ireland.

