10/01/2018 Newsround

Hi, I'm Whitney.

And this is Newsround.

This time last year

Billy Monger was being tipped

as the next Lewis Hamilton.

He was 17 and a star

of Formula four racing -

but he had an accident in his car

last April and lost

both his lower legs.

But Billy is making a comeback.

There was a slight moment when I

thought I would not drive again.

It doesn't change the dream.

The dream stays the same.

I want to be an F1 driver.

My mum is very nervous.

If I don't do it,

what else am I going to

do with my life?

I need to make my life

into something positive.

Billy is a very

special lad, for sure.

Regardless of his injuries,

the level of control

he's got now, for prosthetic

legs, is phenomenal.

When you control the pedal normally

you do it all through

the ankle, but with me,

because I haven't got ankles,

the way I simply control

it is through my leg like this.

I do a push motion instead

to control the car.

Now, gay people can get married

everywhere in the UK apart

from in Northern Ireland.

Two women or two men have been able

to marry in England,

Scotland and Wales since 2014 -

Martin's been speaking to people

in Northern Ireland to find

out what they think.

We're all just people

and we should have equal rights,

no matter who we are.

These kids set up this group

so there would be somewhere

for people who are gay and straight

to chat about things

that affect them.

And one big issue that comes up

again and again is gay marriage,

which isn't allowed in Northern

Ireland.

I think it's old-fashioned and a bit

slow of the people making the laws.

It's unfair, because when I'm older

and I do truly love someone

and want to get married, it just

means that I can't really do that.

If I could sit in front of people

that have the decision to change

this, I would tell them,

"What are you doing?"

Right now I shouldn't even be

here discussing why gay

marriage isn't a thing,

because it should

already be a thing here.

There's like a lot of people

in our area who don't actually know

that gay marriage still isn't legal

in Northern Ireland.

Eventually it will change.

I think we're just putting it off.

But obviously it's going to happen.

For Alice, there is another reason

why it's important to her that gay

people should be able to marry.

Her uncle is gay and lives

in the Republic of Ireland,

where gay marriage is allowed,

after moving from Northern Ireland.

How was it knowing that you couldn't

get married even if you wanted

to in Northern Ireland?

What it does do is it

tells you that you're not

the same as everybody else -

you're not allowed the same

freedoms as everybody else.

And a lot of other people

in Northern Ireland want

the laws to change.

In a recent poll, over two thirds

of people here said they think gay

marriage should be allowed.

The biggest political party

here is called the DUP.

And I'm just outside

their headquarters in Belfast.

The DUP don't believe in gay

marriage, and that's a big reason

why it hasn't happened

in Northern Ireland -

unlike England, Wales and Scotland.

Now we wanted to speak

to someone from the DUP,

but no one wanted to be interviewed.

But someone who would

speak to us was John.

He is a Christian.

He thinks that gay marriage is

against what his religion teaches.

In the Bible I believe that marriage

is something that we didn't create -

it's something that was given to us

as a gift by God.

I think God suggests that

marriage is something

between a man and a woman.

I think it's important that

all people are treated well,

all people are treated with dignity,

all people are respected,

no matter their creed,

colour or sexual orientation.

And I think that is fair.

And finally, check out

these frozen cars.

They're covered in ice

because of ridiculously low

temperatures in Eastern Germany.

Drivers spent hours

trying to defrost them.

Icy winds are battering

the mountainous area

of Saxony with everything

there covered in snow.

And if you're a bit bored

tonight and fancy heading

to Newsround online -

we have just the thing to make

you laugh...

A skateboarding dog!!!

I'm not even joking!

Plus take a look at the amazing

animal photos which are part

of a national competition.

That's it from me.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Ricky's back with loads more great

stories in the morning.

See ya!