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Same Sex Marriage In Ireland


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Irish voters turned out in droves to cast ballots in a gay marriage referendum on Friday, with the high turnout likely to favour the Yes side seeking equality just two decades after the country decriminalised homosexuality.

 

With the once mighty Catholic Church's influence ravaged by child abuse scandals, opinion polls indicated the proposal would pass by as much as two-to-one, making Ireland the first country to adopt same-sex marriage via a popular vote.

 

Irish national broadcaster RTE said it appeared to have been one of the highest ever turnouts for a referendum in the country, with turnout likely to reach 60 percent in Dublin. Only 39 percent voted nationally in an unsuccessful bid to abolish the upper house of parliament in 2013.

 

"It's looking as if there's a strong vote in urban areas, which would be more beneficial to the Yes side," said Mattie McGrath, one of just two of Ireland's 166 members of parliament who campaigned for a No vote.

 

"It's all to play for tomorrow, but the Yes vote might shade it," he said. There was no national exit poll and the first indications of the result were expected mid-morning on Saturday.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/05/22/uk-ireland-gaymarriage-idUKKBN0O717T20150522

 

:character00292::Four Leaf Clover::Bug:

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It certainly looks like the Yes will carry the day with midday approaching. Now it's just a matter or getting the final total in later in the day. We were in Dublin yesterday and there was an almost carnival atmosphere around the streets with Yes stickers and posters to be seen everywhere. It felt more like a social movement with people flying home from Australia, Asia and North America as well as Europe to vote Yes. A tidal wave of support.

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Wow, this is great news!

 

And was the first thing my news feed was telling me this morning, probably because my news feed is filled with Liberal websites who all support LGBT rights!

 

I was super-happy for my Irish friends I have met over the years, and for all Irish people; this is a great day for love and unity.  Hopefully this will send a message to every other country on earth.

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Another nail in the coffin ouf the Catholic Church,who,IMO,held the country back for centuries.....I wonder how many people who voted YES did so because of their animosity toward the Church....?

 

  Oh, there's no question about that.....not to mention the burden of guilt and shame which had to be carried around by millions of people because of those ASSHOLE catholic scumbags.

 

 I would hope the yes vote was indeed a very strong rejection of their worthless dogma.

post-107-0-85245800-1432395892_thumb.jpg

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Another nail in the coffin ouf the Catholic Church,who,IMO,held the country back for centuries.....I wonder how many people who voted YES did so because of their animosity toward the Church....?

 

Great news indeed for both the advancement of equality and a further blow to church influence in state affairs .

 

The great Irish socialist James Connolly foreseen the dangers of Ireland partitioned over a hundred years ago when he predicted we would have two states both reactionary and church controlled - " A carnival of reaction " was his term and a carnival of reaction is what we got .

 

A southern state controlled by the superstitions and reactions of the Catholic Church and an equally repressive northern state run by Protestant bigots .

 

Thankfully the times they are a changing as new generations shake off the superstitious shit that has held them back for centuries .

 

How ironic that the south is now further advanced than the north , recently the Protestant led majority overruled the progressives on a vote on gay marriage in the N I Assembly .    

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Monumental!!!

 

Over 61% voted YES!!! Small country with a BIG message to the rest of us. I am so so so happy with the results. It was the first item on my national news tonight in Canada and it watered my old dry eyeballs. 

 

Bravo IRELAND!!!  :happy0065:  :happy0065:  :happy0065:

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BTW, for those of you unaware, the Bert and Ernie picture above also has a direct relevance to Ireland in the past week. Just last Tuesday, a Belfast court upheld a discrimination case for a gay couple, when Ashers Bakery in Belfast, refused to complete the baking of a cake for a civil partnership of a gay couple. The icing of said cake had a picture of Bert and Ernie on it, with the words "Support Gay Marriage" written across the top.

Despite entering into a contract with the couple,by taking a deposit, Ashers decided to not complete the cake, spiting that it was against their religious beliefs, etc etc. The Judge ruled that a business was not outside the rules of discriminatory law, despite their religious beliefs, and were therefore in breach of contract. The bakery was ordered to pay damages and costs, but despite this, they are now adamant that this case should go to the European Court of Human Rights, as they are the people being discriminated against, in their view.

 

Of course the local bible thumpers from the DUP are now up in arms, predicting the apocalypse and such like, now those evil, devil worshipping gay people have got civil rights!!!

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