Irish voters make history gay marriage referendum | Ireland | The Guardian

Contents:

• UNNISTS FEAT NORTHERN IRISH GAY MARRIAGE BILL
• IRELAND ON URSE TO BE FIRST UNTRY TO LEGALISE GAY MARRIAGE BY POPULAR VOTE
• IRELAND BE FIRST UNTRY TO LEGALISE GAY MARRIAGE BY POPULAR VOTE
• ALL 73 MPS WHO JT VOTED AGAST LEGALISG GAY MARRIAGE NORTHERN IRELAND
• IRISH VOTERS MAKE HISTORY GAY MARRIAGE REFERENDUM
• NORTHERN IRELAND UNR PRSURE AFTER IRISH GAY MARRIAGE REFERENDUM W
• NORTHERN IRELAND MLAS VOTE 'Y' FOR GAY MARRIAGE - BUT MOTN IS TORPEDOED BY DUP VETO
• HUGE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND VOTE FOR GAY MARRIAGE
• NORTHERN IRELAND KEEPS WATCHFUL EYE ON GAY MARRIAGE VOTE ACROSS THE BORR
• GAY MARRIAGE NOW HAS OVERWHELMG SUPPORT NORTHERN IRELAND - POLL
• MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE

UNNISTS FEAT NORTHERN IRISH GAY MARRIAGE BILL

Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that still do not regnise same-sex marriage Democratic Unnists (DUP), the largt party the Stormont assembly, will e a parliamentary veto known as a “petn of ncern” to torpedo any vote favour of gay the plex l of power-sharg, unnist and natnalist parti n claim a bill or a piece of legislatn nnot pass through the volved assembly bee fails to mand cross-muny/Prottant-Catholic the four prev vot to attempt to brg gay marriage reform there have been narrow majori agast change. In April, the marg was only two vot agast gay then a number of unnists and assembly members om the cross-muny Alliance party, who abstaed prev vot, have dited they will vote favour of the pro-gay marriage motn troduced by Sn Fé and the Social Democratic and Labour party (SDLP) later on if there is a narrow vote favour this time of same-sex marriage beg legalised, the DUP has dited will e the petn of ncern to sk the legislatn.

The vot of the Democratic Unnist party and Ulster Unnist party the Stormont Assembly helped feat a Sn Fé motn backed by the SDLP, Alliance and the Green their feat of the proposed bill sets the scene for a legal challenge both the Brish and European urts agast the ntued ban on gay marriage part of the UK. Amnty Internatnal today repeated a warng first ma the Guardian last month that the prospect of a a gay uple takg a legal se to the European Court of Human Rights is now a distct Fé Assembly member for South Down Carna Ruane said: "Attus Ireland are changg bee people do not want to see people discrimated agast. But the gay Christian lobby group Changg Attus Ireland nmned the unnist veto on marriage of Ireland mister Canon Charl Kenny, the secretary of Changg Attus Ireland, said: "The year is drawg nearer when the love and jtice exprsed the gospels will w out and sweep away the fah-based prejudice agast gay and lbian upl.

Gay rights mpaigners said the pro-same-sex marriage msage om Ireland would bolster their stggle for LGBT equaly across the talli suggtg massive majori for the pro-gay marriage si the ci of Dubl and Cork, the overall rult is all the more astonishg given that the Irish state only crimalised homosexualy 22 years ago. The first official rults om the nstuenci of Waterford and Sligo North Lerim have returned a majory of 57% the first nfirmed rult was announced, the veteran Irish gay rights mpaigner David Norris arrived at Dubl Castle, where he was mobbed as a hero by a younger generatn of gay activists.

IRELAND ON URSE TO BE FIRST UNTRY TO LEGALISE GAY MARRIAGE BY POPULAR VOTE

To cheers and applse om the crowd, and wh tears his ey, the amic turned polician – whose legal battle went all the way to the European urt of human rights and forced the Irish ernment to crimalise homosexualy 1993 – said the vote would spire others across the said earlier on Saturday that a y victory would be a wonrful rult. Jt after the taoiseach’s remarks, emerged that out of almost three-quarters of the ballot box opened his own Mayo nstuency – an area of wtern Ireland normally regard as nservative and religly vout – there was a 55% vote favour of gay marriage., His bet and Fe Gael lleague Leo Vradkar, Ireland’s first openly gay mister, said: “We’re the first untry the world to enshre marriage equaly our nstutn and do so by popular mandate.

Dr Richard O’Leary, an Anglin member of Changg Attu Ireland, also appealed to the church’ hierarchi to support gay marriage Northern Ireland – the only part of the islands were same sex upl still nnot get married. Ireland has voted by a huge majory to legalise same-sex marriage, beg the first untry the world to do so by popular vote a move hailed as a social revolutn and weled around the 62% of the Irish Republic’s electorate voted favour of gay marriage.

IRELAND BE FIRST UNTRY TO LEGALISE GAY MARRIAGE BY POPULAR VOTE

”Health mister Leo Varadkar, who this year me out as the untry’s first openly gay mister, said the mpaign had been “almost like a social revolutn” social transformatn of the untry was on display the grounds of Dubl Castle, former seat of Brish le Ireland and the se of the natnal unt for a referendum that was unthkable jt two s ago – was only 1993 that homosexualy was crimalised. The rabow lours of the ternatnal gay movement l up the 18th-century bbled urtyard amid glor sunshe on Saturday afternoon as up to 2, 000 gay activists celebrated a roundg Fe Gael-Labour aln had asked voters to amend their 78-year-old nstutn. The overall turnout of 61% was higher than the poll to ratify the 1998 Good Friday agreement, when 56% of the electorate me out to pro-reform vote was also energised by an 11th-hour movement lled #hometovote, which ed social media to enurage young Irish expatriat to get back to Ireland time to first nstuency that clared favour of a Y vote was the ral Sligo/North Lerim, which backed gay marriage by 54% to 46%.

ALL 73 MPS WHO JT VOTED AGAST LEGALISG GAY MARRIAGE NORTHERN IRELAND

Photograph: Clodagh Kilyne/Getty Imag Photograph: Clodagh Kilyne/Getty ImagAs the first nfirmed rult was announced, veteran Irish gay rights mpaigner Senator David Norris arrived at Dubl Castle, where he was mobbed as a hero by a younger generatn of gay activists. The world expert on Jam Joyce had pursued urt s all the way to the European urt of human rights, forcg a prev Irish ernment to crimalise homosexualy cheers and applse om the crowd gathered the urtyard, and wh tears his ey, Norris said the rult would spire others across the pla. “It’s clear that, if the referendum is an affirmatn of the views of young people, the church has a huge task ont of , ” Mart pro-gay marriage vote ptured headl around the world, wh celebri praisg the oute.

IRISH VOTERS MAKE HISTORY GAY MARRIAGE REFERENDUM

”Back the sunshe at Dubl Castle, the crowds gave a rock-star wele to another proment Irish gay spokman, the drag queen and human rights activist Panti Bliss, also known as Rory O’ Bliss aka Rory O’Neill leads the celebratns. ”But while the thoands the Castle leapt for joy, wept and waved rabow flags triumph when the overall natnal vote was announced, there was a remr om the gay muny Northern Ireland that the stggle for equaly is far om over even on the Boyd, of the gay rights group the Rabow Project Belfast, remd the world that there was still a ban on gay marriage north of the borr. All 73 MPs who voted agast legalisg gay marriage Northern Ireland (All are Tory or DUP - tails om Parliament's webse) David Ams Steve Baker Henry Bellgham Pl Berford Bob Blackman Peter Bone Suella Braverman Andrew Bridgen Jam Brokenshire Fna Bce Gregory Campbell Jam Cartlidge William Cash Rehman Chishti Christopher Chope Simon Clarke There Coffey Philip Davi David Davis Nigel Dodds Steve Double Richard Drax David Duguid Gee Etice Kev Foster Roger Gale Pl Girvan Robert Goodwill Jam Gray Kirstene Hair Mark Harper John Hay Kev Hollrake Philip Hollobone Adam Holloway John Howell Eddie Hugh Carole Johnson David Jon Stephen Kerr Greg Knight John Lamont Ple Latham Jeremy Leoy Edward Leigh Andrew Lewer Emma Ltle Pengelly Anne Ma Nigel Mills David Morris Matthew Offord Ian Paisley Owen Paterson Mike Penng Mark Prisk Mark Prchard Jab Re-Mogg Lrence Robertson Mary Robson Andrew Rosll Douglas Ross Jim Shannon David Simpson John Stevenson Gary Streeter Dmond Swayne Robert Syms Derek Thomas Michael Tomlson Mart Vickers Heather Wheeler Bill Wigg Sammy Wilson PLUS: Jefey M.

Polls have opened Ireland, where voters are makg history as the republic be the first untry to ask s electorate to legalise gay than 3 ln voters have been ved to st ballots Ireland’s 43 nstuenci, wh the rult to follow on Saturday. Pollg statns opened at 7am BST and close at votg follows a hard-fought and ocsnally ranro battle between nservative and liberal some 20 other untri worldwi have already legalised gay marriage, Ireland would be the first to do so through a referendum.

The move would mark the culmatn of an improbable journey a untry which homosexual acts were still illegal as recently as turnout is said to be higher than prev referendums the republic, wh some urban areas, particularly the key greater Dubl battleground, reportg that 20% of the electorate had st their vote before lunchtime.

NORTHERN IRELAND UNR PRSURE AFTER IRISH GAY MARRIAGE REFERENDUM W

Senator Norris is the gay rights veteran whose legal battle rulted the Irish ernment crimalisg homosexualy Og Cack, one of Ireland’s most famo openly gay sportsmen, spoke of his nerv on the eve of the referendum. An alliance of evangelil Catholics and Prottants have distributed more than 90, 000 anti-gay marriage pamphlets over the past week across Ireland urgg a no Monaghan, one of the ordators of the alliance of 100 relig activists, issued a warng on the eve of the referendum.

Focg on fears stirred up by the no mp about children allegedly beg forcibly adopted by gay upl, Bishop Storey said: “You nnot refe marriage whout cludg rmatn and reference to children, fay and the good of society. ”Until this week the y-no battle was loured by accatns that opponents of gay marriage were misleadg the public over claims about forced adoptns or same-sex upl havg a supposed right to obta children through surrogacy. The y mp has poted out that the missner overseeg the mpaign has dismissed the claims and emphasised they were not nnected to gay the past few days, the mpaign has turned much uglier, wh y advot revealg the amount of vrlic abe they have received.

NORTHERN IRELAND MLAS VOTE 'Y' FOR GAY MARRIAGE - BUT MOTN IS TORPEDOED BY DUP VETO

”Referrg to Mullally gog public about her illns, her sexualy and her support for the y si, the letter-wrer ntued: “After all you have been relentlsly phg the twisted ia of gay marriage which would stroy the fay as we know and the liv of generatns of nocent children victimised by the narcissism of their ‘parents’. ”Mullally’s rrponnt end the letter wh further personalised, racially tged abe directed at her and her partner: “My advice is to accept that you are both homosexual and not very pretty, as there are far worse fat; you might be black for stance.

”Meanwhile, Colm O’Gorman, the executive director of Amnty Internatnal Ireland, proment y mpaigner and survivor of cleril child sex abe, disclosed on Thursday that a no voter tweeted him a picture of a gay man beg thrown to his ath off a buildg by Islamic State extremists. Policians Northern Ireland will face tense prsure om LGBT rights mpaigners to “tch up” wh the rt of wtern Europe after the Irish Republic overwhelmgly backed same-sex marriage a Irish Congrs of Tra Unns will jo Amnty Internatnal and gay rights group the Rabow Project to hold a mass rally support of equal marriage rights on 13 June, while a legal tt se has also been lodged wh Belfast’s Friday’s historic referendum, which the Republic’s voters endorsed same-sex marriage by 2-1, Northern Ireland remas the last untry wtern Europe where LGBT upl are barred om gettg married [see footnote]. Attempts to legislate to allow gay marriage have been vetoed by the Democratic Unnist party and a majory of Ulster Unnists the volved Northern Ireland assembly at ICTU spokman said the regn need to tch up wh the rt of mocratic Europe – and particular every other part of the UK.

HUGE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND VOTE FOR GAY MARRIAGE

Corrigan said people Northern Ireland should show they are “sick of livg a discrimatory backwater for gay people” month, a Sn Fé motn on marriage equaly fell after 47 Stormont assembly members voted support while 49 unnists voted agast.

A Stormont vote favour of same-sex marriage Northern Ireland achieved a knife-edge majory for the first time today - but still did not go ntroversial issue was bated the Assembly this afternoon for the fifth time the last three years - and each time until now, has the 105 MLAs who voted today, 53 voted for and 51 voted agast gay marriage.

But is ridiculo we are the only regn the UK where same-sex marriag are not allowed, " she 's motn, brought by both Sn Fe and SDLP MLAs, is that "this Assembly lls on the Executive to table legislatn to allow for same-sex marriage" Cochrane-Watson told the Belfast Telegraph earlier this year he remaed "slightly unfortable" wh the ia of gay marriage. However, married gay people will now have a nstutnal standg that n only be removed by another popular total, 1, 201, 607 people voted favour of same-sex marriage, while 734, 300 voted agast.

NORTHERN IRELAND KEEPS WATCHFUL EYE ON GAY MARRIAGE VOTE ACROSS THE BORR

'Cultural divi' Many people returned to the Republic of Ireland om abroad to st their ptn, "Today Ireland ma history", say Irish PM Enda Kenny after the vote to legalise same-sex marriageMister for Health Leo Varadkar, who earlier this year me out as the Republic of Ireland's first openly gay mister, said the vote showed that the "tradnal cultural divi" between ral and urban areas had vanished. Northern Ireland’s assembly voted narrowly favour of gay marriage equaly but the largt party the volved parliament, the Democratic Unnists, have sce vetoed any change the pennt unnist assembly members joed natnalists and others wh 53 vot favour of same sex marriage – jt one vote ahead of the ma unnist parti who oppose any the motn the regnal parliament fell after the DUP ed a “petn of ncern” to argue that the law change that would allow same-sex upl to marry Northern Ireland did not mand sufficient cross-muny the plex l of power sharg the regn, parti om eher the unnist or natnalist muny n e this mechanism if they feel there is not enough backg om Prottants or Catholics for particular legislatn. Amnty Internatnal said on Monday was ironic that a mechanism tablished to ensure the rights of mori Northern Ireland had been ed to ny a fundamental right to the LGBT mory the DUP veto means that Northern Ireland remas the only part of the UK where gay upl nnot get married legally.

The party is heavily fluenced by the socially nservative Evangelil Christian muny, particularly the Free Prbyterian church, which was found by the late DUP lear, the Rev Ian an often act bate si the Stormont assembly, there were a number of trenchant attacks on the notn of gay marriage equaly om the unnist Allister, lear of the hardle Tradnal Unnist Voice, said same-sex upl gettg married was a “perverse fn” of marriage. He said recent opn polls showed 68% of people Northern Ireland were favour of a change to the those assembly members who changed their md to vote favour of same-sex marriage this time around was the Alliance party’s Trevor told the parliament that he had been “on a journey” and had listened to his LGBT nstuents and their fai, and was now persuad votg y was the right thg to Monday’s vote, gay upl hand out vatns to the weddgs they were planng to have if the legislatn had passed through whout any least three LGBT upl are planng legal actn to challenge the same-sex marriage ban, pledgg to take the fight to the European urt of human rights if Richard O’Leary, of the Fah Marriage Equaly group, said Northern Ireland’s image as a backward society had been rerced by the ntued ban on equal marriage.

Northern Ireland is closely watchg for the oute of Friday’s Irish vote on gay marriage, knowg that if, as expected, the y vote prevails would stick out as the last place the Brish isl ristg that ristance will soon be tted. “They have asked the fay urt to make a claratn that their marriage was lawfully nstuted at ceptn and that remas lawful Northern Ireland, ” said Gav Boyd, a Belfast-based activist wh the Rabow Project, one of Northern Ireland’s ma gay rights anisatns. The se will next be heard Fé has tried on several ocsns to ph a gay marriage bill through the regnal assembly Stormont, but has been blocked by the Democratic Unnists, the largt party the provce.

GAY MARRIAGE NOW HAS OVERWHELMG SUPPORT NORTHERN IRELAND - POLL

Gay marriage beme legal England, Stland and Wal the DUP vetoed a gay marriage equaly law April, Northern Ireland’s puty first mister, Mart McGuns, suggted there should be a regn-wi referendum to allow the lol electorate to ci on the matter once and for all. “This not only creat legal anomali whereby a person’s relatnship is reclassified as a civil partnership wh their nsent when they e om other parts of the UK or Ireland but actively centivis LGBT people to leave Northern Ireland search of a more welg home other plac, ” he the rt of the UK, issu such as gay rights and marriage equaly Northern Ireland remble the “culture wars” stggl the US between liberals and born-aga Christians, wh many of the latter wieldg fluence on the Republin regn is the only part of the UK where the Department of Health matas a ban on gay men donatg blood to the lol NHS bee the DUP has repeatedly taken up this mistry the power-sharg health misters past and prent along wh their lear, Peter Robson, the first mister, have also monstrated strong support for many Evangelil Christian . Sn Fé and others the parliament have vowed to block that sex was still crimalised until Jeff Dudgeon won a landmark se 1981 at the European urt of human rights Strasbourg, overturng that law and forcg the direct-le Brish ernment to legalise homosexual relatns Northern Ireland.

Picture - Kev Stt / PrseyePacemaker prs 13/6/15 Pictured are Ellie McEaveney and Meabh Neon givg their support to Gay marriage as thoands of people have attend a march Belfast, llg for the troductn of civil marriage for same-sex upl Northern Ireland. Picture Mark marlow/pacemaker prsPacemaker prs 13/6/15 Pictured givg her support to Gay marriage is Aibhrean Black as thoands of people have attend a march Belfast, llg for the troductn of civil marriage for same-sex upl Northern Ireland. Picture Mark marlow/pacemaker prsPacemaker prs 13/6/15 Pictured are Ellie McEaveney and Meabh Neon givg their support to Gay marriage as thoands of people have attend a march Belfast, llg for the troductn of civil marriage for same-sex upl Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, those om a Catholic background are more cled to voice support for gay marriage, wh three quarters (75%) agreeg that homosexual upl should be able to get married, pared to 57% of those om a Prottant muny data also highlighted differg views on this subject pendg on the polil party participants voted for May’s Wtmster Electn. Younger pro-unn Prottant voters Northern Ireland are creasgly turned off unnist policians due to their parti’ social nservatism on issu such as gay rights and abortn, acrdg to a post-electn support among Prottants aged unr 40 for stayg the UK remas solid at 82%, a majory of them no longer vote electns for the Northern Ireland assembly or liberalisg the regn’s strict anti-abortn laws, legalisg gay marriage and supportg mixed relig marriag, the pro-unnist unr-40s are far more liberal than the ultra-nservative Christian-fluenced Democratic Unnist party, acrdg to the Universy of rearch nclus there is a much broar divi between generatns, wh the most liberal sectns of Northern Irish society not votg lol universy’s Instute of Irish Studi terviewed 1, 155 voters across Northern Ireland’s 18 Wtmster/Stormont nstuenci.

MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE

Shirlow said the rults should be a “wake-up ll to the DUP” terms of alienatg younger unnists who are “far more liberal and tolerant on issu like gay rights and abortn” said one of the major paradox of the survey was the disjunctn between support to rema wh the UK and difference towards unnist polil parti the unr-40 Prottants who do not vote electns, only 47% support the Northern Ireland assembly and the Stormont executive, yet support for stayg the UK remas well over 80% for the same group. “If you be this sectn of the electorate’s liberalism on social issu like abortn, gay marriage and mixed marriage we nclu that the type of social nservatism of the DUP is puttg off the voters. A group of mps led by Ben Bradshaw, a gay Anglin, is lookg at ways to amend the legislatn to allow willg prits and parish to take part, which they argue uld also help boost dwdlg numbers the aisl.

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