By Padraic Halp and Conor Humphri DUBLIN (Rters) - Irish voters turned out drov to st ballots a gay marriage referendum on Friday, wh the high turnout likely to favor the Y si seekg equaly jt two s after the untry crimalized homosexualy. Wh the once mighty Catholic Church's fluence ravaged by child abe sndals, opn polls dited the proposal would pass by as much as two-to-one, makg Ireland the first untry to adopt same-sex marriage via a popular vote. Irish natnal broadster RTE said appeared to have been one of the hight ever turnouts for a referendum the untry, wh turnout likely to reach 60 percent Dubl.
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 open as Ireland be first untry to ask electorate about legalisg gay marriage * irish gay vote *
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.
IRELAND BE FIRST UNTRY TO LEGALISE GAY MARRIAGE BY POPULAR VOTE
Wh all of the rults , Ireland has voted a historic y s gay marriage referendum * irish gay vote *
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.
”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.
IRELAND LEGALIZ GAY MARRIAGE HISTORIC VOTE
Voters went to the polls Ireland Friday a referendum on whether to allow gay marriage. Rults will be officially clared Saturday. * irish gay vote *
”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 ON URSE TO BE FIRST UNTRY TO LEGALISE GAY MARRIAGE BY POPULAR VOTE
* irish gay vote *
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. 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.
IRELAND GAY MARRIAGE REFERENDUM: THOANDS FLY 'HOME TO VOTE'
The rult prompted a massive street party around the gay district of central Dubl close to the natnal unt centre.
HIGH TURNOUT SEEN FAVORG Y IRISH GAY MARRIAGE VOTE
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.
CALIFORNIA SCHOOL BOARD ADOPTS SOCIAL STUDI TEXTBOOKS THAT CLU GAY RIGHTS AFTER WARNGS OM ERNOR
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.