Ireland’s Big Gay TurnaroundIrish voters will likely approve same-sex marriage this spring, a huge U

Ireland’s Big Gay TurnaroundIrish voters will likely approve same-sex marriage this spring, a huge U-turn for a country where the Catholic Church’s iron grip has been weakened by a decade of abuse scandals.“At the very back of New York City’s St Patrick’s Day parade this year, a small gay group will join the official festivities for the first time ever.The organizers of the parade have showed extraordinary hostility to homosexuals for more than 40 years, fighting tooth and nail to keep gay groups out of the annual celebration of Irishness. This year’s small gesture of inclusion—of gay NBC employees—was only made after Mayor Bill de Blasio boycotted the parade last year (he has done so again this year) and a number of sponsors also withdrew from the 253-year-old celebration to protest its openly exclusionary attitude.So it is fitting that a gay group will march in New York this year as, back home, a decision of tremendous significance is about to be made by the Irish people regarding gay rights.A proposal to alter the constitution to allow same-sex marriage in Ireland looks set to sail through when a referendum on the issue takes place May 22.Ireland is often perceived abroad to be grossly homophobic. While there are senior bishops who continue to equate homosexuality to “Down syndrome or spina bifida,” the truth is that Ireland, especially if one is talking about the big cities of Dublin, Cork and Galway, is largely a tolerant, progressive, and inclusive place these days.Civil partnerships, for example, were introduced in Ireland in 2010 and have swiftly become an uncontroversial part of everyday life, a remarkable turnaround given that it is only 22 years since homosexuality itself was decriminalized, in 1993.The latest polls show a resounding 71 percent in favor of changing the law. If the support holds steady as the Yes campaign hopes, it will mark the first time worldwide that gay marriage has been introduced by popular vote, as opposed to an act of the legislature (a referendum is required in Ireland because the change in the law requires a change to its constitution).“At present what is embodied in law is man meets woman, gets married, and can give a child a mother and a father. What is proposed is that man meet man or woman meets woman and if they have children they can provide two fathers or two mothers. That’s a wholly different vision of the family. We think it is preferable for a child to grow up with the love of a mother and a father.“The law is going to be saying that in a point of law it is a matter of indifference whether a child is being raised in a man-man, man-woman, or woman-woman relationship.”“Now it’s really all about making sure young people—students and young families—get out and vote. It is about being seen as equal in the eyes of the law and the state and peers. We just want to live our lives in society the same as anyone else. What makes this an exceptional referendum is that we are the only country in world to ask people to vote on marriage equality. It will be wonderful if it goes through, but if it does not, it could be very damaging and disheartening for the gay community.”Read the full piece here -- source link

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