Ireland's gay marriage bate: where homophob are treated as victims | Emer O’Toole | The Guardian

Contents:

• IRELAND TO HOLD REFERENDUM ON GAY MARRIAGE MAY
• IRELAND'S GAY MARRIAGE BATE: WHERE HOMOPHOB ARE TREATED AS VICTIMS
• IRELAND BE FIRST UNTRY TO LEGALISE GAY MARRIAGE BY POPULAR VOTE
• IRISH VOTERS MAKE HISTORY GAY MARRIAGE REFERENDUM
• 'WELL DONE': THE LEGALIZATN OF GAY MARRIAGE IRELAND
• MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE

IRELAND TO HOLD REFERENDUM ON GAY MARRIAGE MAY

After all, Ireland, a tradnally nservative Catholic untry, only crimalized homosexualy 1993.

Mister for Health Leo Varadkar publicly revealed he was gay for the first time durg the mpaign and lled the w a “historil day. A referendum on legalisg gay marriage Ireland will be held May, the Republic’s puty prime mister announced on Tuday eveng. “The fact that this referendum is now to take place is a mark of the progrs that has taken place this untry recent years and s, and dit the extent to which attus to lbian and gay people have changed, ” Burton said Government Buildgs.

IRELAND'S GAY MARRIAGE BATE: WHERE HOMOPHOB ARE TREATED AS VICTIMS

A gay Christian group was among the first to wele the announcement.

”The latt opn poll the Irish Tim found that 71% of the Republic’s electorate would vote y and allow for legal gay marriag the hierarchy of the Catholic church last week me out agast gay marriage the Republic. A y vote would mark another feat for the temporal power of the Catholic church a untry once the same day as the gay marriage referendum, the Republic’s voters will also be asked to endorse a nstutnal reform that will allow lowerg the age an dividual n stand for the Irish princy om 35 to 21.

IRELAND BE FIRST UNTRY TO LEGALISE GAY MARRIAGE BY POPULAR VOTE

A gay member of the ma aln partner, Fe Gael, said the referendum would be a landmark day for social equaly Buttimer, who prents Cork South Central the Irish parliament said: “As a gay man and member of Fe Gael, I am immensely proud that this referendum has been brought forward by this Fe Gael/ Labour Government. It’s been over 25 years sce the crimalizatn of homosexualy Ireland and not that many years sce Ireland led the way by beg one of the first untri to support same-sex marriage. Homosexual activy was only crimalized Ireland 1993!

Gay marriage has only been legalized Ireland for four years (almost). The laws agast homosexualy, Ireland, dated back to Victorian tim and were enforced for almost 150 years.

Forced Slavery For Anybody Convicted Of Homosexual Activi. For most of Ireland’s history, s laws agast homosexualy dated back to the Victorian era and were felt for more than 140 years.

IRISH VOTERS MAKE HISTORY GAY MARRIAGE REFERENDUM

David Norris, a lecturer at Try College Dubl, is one of the pneers of the movement agast the crimalizatn of homosexualy. He began legal proceedgs back 1977 to crimalize homosexualy. In 1982, a gay man named Declan Flynn was btally and fatally attacked Dubl by five men.

He built a se agast the Irish State over the nstutnal stat of the crimalizatn of certa homosexual acts, and was a huge victory – pecially sce he won and laid the road for further chang the future for the crimalizatn of homosexualy Ireland.

Ireland fally crimalized homosexualy on 24th June 1993.

'WELL DONE': THE LEGALIZATN OF GAY MARRIAGE IRELAND

The crimalizatn of homosexualy was a huge succs, but would be many years before a homosexual uple would have the rights to legally bd their relatnship eher through marriage or a civil partnership – 17 years to be precise! Gay or straight, we are the same, and we should all be entled to marry the person we love. Some recent statements on gay marriage om Ireland:.

"This is really a kd of a satire on marriage that is beg nducted by the gay lobby. Is the person quoted above homophobic?

Is the Iona Instute, the Irish anisatn that ma this vio, homophobic?

MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE

As she said on RTÉ's Saturday Night Show, anyone who actively mpaigns agast civil rights for gay people is homophobic.

After this she was threatened wh legal actn for famatn by the wrer John Waters (whose views on gay marriage are quoted above), by the Iona Instute and by Breda O'Brien, an Irish Tim RTÉ, Ireland's natnal broadster, the answer, would seem, is no. RTÉ followed up Panti's appearance and s subsequent payouts to Waters, O'Brien and Iona wh a panel discsn on homophobia, explicly amed terms of whether the word for anti-homosexual prejudice should be exclud om the Irish bate on same-sex marriage.

The logic is that applyg the word homophobic to those who oppose gay marriage is famatory and anthetil to ratnal the same night, Panti took to the stage of The Abbey, Ireland's natnal theatre, to liver a stunng piece of oratory on the "neat Orwellian trick" of wrtg the word for gay opprsn om the hands of gay people. "It turns out, " she said, "that gay people are not the victims of homophobia: homophob are the victims of homophobia. "The word homophobia has long been a powerful tool for gay activists to articulate opprsn of their inti and rights.