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

Contents:

• IRISH VOTERS MAKE HISTORY GAY MARRIAGE REFERENDUM
• IRELAND BE FIRST UNTRY TO LEGALISE GAY MARRIAGE BY POPULAR VOTE
• IRELAND LEGALIZ GAY MARRIAGE HISTORIC VOTE
• IRELAND ON URSE TO BE FIRST UNTRY TO LEGALISE GAY MARRIAGE BY POPULAR VOTE
• IRELAND GAY MARRIAGE REFERENDUM: THOANDS FLY 'HOME TO VOTE'
• HIGH TURNOUT SEEN FAVORG Y IRISH GAY MARRIAGE VOTE
• CALIFORNIA SCHOOL BOARD ADOPTS SOCIAL STUDI TEXTBOOKS THAT CLU GAY RIGHTS AFTER WARNGS OM ERNOR

IRISH VOTERS MAKE HISTORY GAY MARRIAGE REFERENDUM

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. 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.

IRELAND BE FIRST UNTRY TO LEGALISE GAY MARRIAGE BY POPULAR VOTE

”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. Ireland, however, is unique bee is the only untry to ask s electorate to endorse gay marriage a plebisce.

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 LEGALIZ GAY MARRIAGE HISTORIC VOTE

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.

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

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%.

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.

IRELAND GAY MARRIAGE REFERENDUM: THOANDS FLY 'HOME TO VOTE'

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.

There are untri throughout Ai and Asia which is terribly dangero to be gay, ” Norris said. “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. ”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.

HIGH TURNOUT SEEN FAVORG Y IRISH GAY MARRIAGE VOTE

”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. The number of Y vot is 964, 616, wh 599, 505 for McDonaldAs the cliche go, succs has many fathers and the ntext of the Y victory the Irish gay marriage vote there will be many policians who will want to claim the cred.

But whether Labour gas om today’s stunng pro-gay marriage victory pecially greater Dubl is open to O'CarrollThe archbishop of Dubl, Diarmuid Mart, has scribed the almost certa Y fal rult as a wake-up ll for the Catholic church. 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.

DUBLIN — Ireland beme the first untry Saturday to legalize same-sex marriage by natnal referendum, a rult that highlights the dramatic pace at which this tradnally nservative Catholic natn has changed recent 22 years after crimalizg homosexualy, 62.

CALIFORNIA SCHOOL BOARD ADOPTS SOCIAL STUDI TEXTBOOKS THAT CLU GAY RIGHTS AFTER WARNGS OM ERNOR

1% of voters approved the measure changg the natn's nstutn to allow gay marriage, acrdg to official rults by Ireland's referendum missn.

"We're the first untry the world to enshre marriage equaly our nstutn and do so by popular mandate, " Leo Varadkar, Ireland's health mister who revealed he was gay durg the mpaign, told state broadster RTE. Many were rryg balloons, flags and other accsori highlightg an issue that for some that gay and lbian muny seemed almost too good to be te.