Where Europe stands on gay marriage and civil unns | Pew Rearch Center

Contents:

• EXPLAER: IRELAND’S WORLD-FIRST POPULAR VOTE ON GAY MARRIAGE
• IRELAND BE FIRST UNTRY TO LEGALISE GAY MARRIAGE BY POPULAR VOTE
• LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE
• WHERE EUROPE STANDS ON GAY MARRIAGE AND CIVIL UNNS

EXPLAER: IRELAND’S WORLD-FIRST POPULAR VOTE ON GAY MARRIAGE

Ireland holds world's first popular vote to ci if gay and lbian upl n marry. Y proponents say vote is about givg gay, lbian upl same rights as heterosexuals.

Ireland is due to hold the world’s first popular vote to ci whether gay and lbian upl should be allowed to marry. The Y proponents say that is simply about givg gay and lbian upl the same nstutnal rights as heterosexual upl.

Legislatn passed 2010 gave siar but not equal rights and rponsibili to gay and lbian upl. The poll may be about rights, but is also evably a tt to ci if Irish people regnize and accept homosexualy and that two men, or two women, n love each other wh the same tensy and passn as a heterosexual uple and whether the state should bls their love.

IRELAND BE FIRST UNTRY TO LEGALISE GAY MARRIAGE BY POPULAR VOTE

At a eper level, the referendum is about whether Irish people n accept that gay and lbian upl have sex which is as pleasurable and fulfillg as is for heterosexual upl and that, when homosexual upl have children, those children are not harmed by havg two parents of the same genr.

The qutn this Friday is to what extent this cultural inty embrac liberal, smopolan attus to beg gay. 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.

LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE

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. Senator David Norris, who fought om the 1970s to 1993 to have homosexualy crimalised, weled the rult.

WHERE EUROPE STANDS ON GAY MARRIAGE AND CIVIL UNNS

“I believe that by the end of today gay people will be equal this untry. 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. The huge Y vote marks another tone Ireland’s journey towards a more liberal, secular of an electorate of more than 3 ln, 1, 201, 607 backed gay marriage, while 734, 300 voters said No.

The rult prompted a massive street party around the gay district of central Dubl close to the natnal unt centre.

Directly addrsg Ireland’s gay muny, taoiseach Enda Kenny said the rult meant that “a majory of people this republic have stood up for them [those the gay muny]”. We are a genero, passnate, bold and joyful people who say y to cln, y to generosy, y to love, y to gay marriage. ”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.