Ireland would bee the 18th untry to allow gay marriage – and the first to do so after a natnal referendum
Contents:
- THE GAY MARRIAGE REFERENDUM IS A WATERSHED MOMENT IRISH HISTORY
- IRELAND BE FIRST UNTRY TO LEGALISE GAY MARRIAGE BY POPULAR VOTE
THE GAY MARRIAGE REFERENDUM IS A WATERSHED MOMENT IRISH HISTORY
* irish gay referendum *
Denmark led the way on civil partnerships, troducg them for same-sex upl 1989, but gay marriage only beme legal there June the turn of this year Luxembourg beme the latt untry to legalise same-sex marriage. Rearch by the Internatnal Lbian and Gay Associatn (Ilga), published May 2014, found that more than 2. 7 billn people live untri where beg gay is a crime.
It said beg lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr was illegal almost 80 untri, and at least five of the was punishable by ath.
Homosexualy was only crimalised 1993; the Civil Partnership Act passed 2010. Wh support and facts short supply, the no mpaign is g another powerful referendum mpaign weapon: bishop of Elph, Kev Doran, said recently that gay people n get married, jt to people of the oppose sex.
IRELAND BE FIRST UNTRY TO LEGALISE GAY MARRIAGE BY POPULAR VOTE
“They [homosexuals] will still ntract ncers earlier life, ” the leaflet read. Mr Varadkar revealed publilly durg the referendum mpaign that he was gay.
“I would like to have seen that the rights of gay and lbian men and women uld have been rpected whout changg the fn of marriage.
Senator Filma Healy Eam, who also mpaigned for a No vote, said the referendum “for me was never anti-gay”. She said she had swched her vote om Y to No simply bee of her ncerns around nstutnal change and s effect on a child’s No advocy group Mothers and Fathers Matter exprsed “warm ngratulatns” to the Y si but said that one three Irish people - the vote rat - were not reprented by the polil mpaigner and Fianna Fáil Senator Averil Power said gay mpaigners who told their stori on the doorsteps of voters had “helped to change Ireland for all of ”, not jt the gay said she had seen many of them rced to tears by the experience they had durg the mpaign.