Ireland set to approve gay marriage in public vote

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[h=4]Ireland set to approve gay marriage in public vote[/h]Around three million people in Ireland were voting Friday in a landmark national referendum on gay marriage that was expected to easily pass despite strong opposition from the country's Roman Catholic church.

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Ireland is about to hold a referendum on whether same-sex marriage should be legal — and the traditionally Catholic stronghold could buck the Church.
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Posters for and against same-sex marriage are seen in Donegal, Ireland, on May 21.(Photo: EPA)


DUBLIN — Around three million people in Ireland were voting Friday in a landmark national referendum on gay marriage that was expected to easily pass despite strong opposition from the country's Roman Catholic church.
Polls opened at 7 a.m. local time and will close at 10 p.m. (5 p.m. ET). If successful, the vote will see Ireland, which only decriminalized homosexuality in 1993, become the 19th country to legalize same-sex marriage, but it would become the first do so by holding a nationwide ballot. Results are due Saturday.
Advocates of the measure want to change Ireland's constitution so that it states that people are entitled to marry regardless of their sex. Opponents question the potential legal, religious and social implications of such an amendment.
While debate on the referendum has exposed some of the deep, lingering divisions in Irish society, it has also benefited from a lack of vitriolic rhetoric from the church that characterized previous referendums here on divorce and abortion.
As its influence has waned, and still smarting from child abuse scandals, the church has been careful not to take an active role in the debate. Instead, it has been releasing a series of carefully worded statements.
"I believe that civil partnerships give gay people clear civil rights and recognition as people committed to one another, and I fully endorse this," Pat Storey, Ireland's first female bishop, wrote in a letter to her clergy this week, justifying her 'No' vote.
"However, I do not think this requires the redefinition of marriage to uphold it, and I do not believe marriage should be redefined," she said.
Ireland introduced legislation on civil unions for same-sex couples in 2010, but while marriage is protected under the country's constitution partnerships are not, meaning that these rights can theoretically be revoked by future lawmakers. By contrast, changes to Ireland's constitution require a national referendum.
USA TODAY
Ireland braces for Friday's vote on same-sex marriage




Among those voting in Ireland's capital on Friday morning was taxi driver John Quinn.
He said that while he was not fully aware of all the myriad implications of backing a "Yes" vote his instincts nonetheless told him that introducing marriage equality rights for same-sex couples was the correct and necessary thing to do.
"Sometimes making these difficult decisions is as simple as listening to what your gut says," Quinn, who voted "Yes," said.
USA TODAY
Ireland may be first country to pass gay-marriage vote




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