Remember when the UK didn’t have gay marriage? Well, Ireland, which is a lot more religious than the UK, has a gay marriage referendum coming up, and here’s your need-to-know.
Just like the Scottish referendum, people are going to be able to give a vote answering ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to this question. Whether this sentence: ‘Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex,’ should be added to the constitution.
And in the lead-up to the election, while political parties are coming out (sorry for the pun) in support of same-sex marriages, many churches are against it. For example, today the Presbyterian church said, reports The Irish Times: The Presbyterian Church in Ireland upholds the historic – and Christian – view of marriage as exclusively between one man and one woman. We affirm that it is needed for the common good of society. A redefinition of marriage would establish new norms within our society, the implications of which have not been fully explored.’
However, overall, there’s loads of support for the Yes vote, with 74% of Irish voters saying they’ll vote Yes, compared to just 26% of No voters. Oh, and FYI, women are more likely to vote Yes than No. Maybe they know – just like the LGB community do – that marriage could do pretty well if it just fitted around people’s lives a bit more than the other way around.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.