This past week saw Uruguay enact full gay marriage and the French Senate approve both gay marriage and gay adoption, all but guaranteeing that gay marriage will be legal soon in France. And these developments have taken place despite the strenuous - dare we say nearly hysterical - opposition of the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy and its front organizations. Now, it appears that Ireland - once a bastion of Catholicism where the Church wielded immense power - may be moving towards full gay marriage as well. All of which, in the view of this blog is a very positive thing. The Church needs to be pushed out of politics completely despite the hierarchy's longing of the "good old days" of the Inquisition and a time when the Pope could make rulers bend to his whims. As the Irish Examiner reports, the Irish Constitutional Convention has approved a referendum of gay marriage an, based on recent polls and the Irish public's contempt for the Church hierarchy, the referendum will likely pass. First these excerpts from the Irish Examiner story:
The Constitutional Convention has passed a vote calling for a referendum on same-sex marriage.
The Convention decided to recommend that the Constitution be changed to allow for civil marriage for same-sex couples, with 79 of the 100 members in favour of the motion. Nineteen delegates voted against, with one 'no opinion'.
A report will now be drafted and the recommendations of the Constitutional Convention will now go to Government.
After the report is officially sent to the Oireachtas, the Government are committed to responding within four months by way of a debate in the Oireachtas and if it agrees with the recommendation to amend the Constitution, to include a timeframe for a referendum.
The result was announced by Convention Chairman Tom Arnold, to applause from the floor.
There has been a 12 percentage point increase in support of same-sex civil marriages since 2008, according to a new poll.
The poll, which was carried out in late 2012 by Millward Brown Lansdowne for Marriage Equality, shows 75 per cent of people would vote yes in a referendum to extend civil marriage to same-sex couples. In 2008, 63 per cent of respondents said they would vote yes.
The only age range where the majority of people said they would vote no is the over-65s, which went from 27 per cent in 2008 to 43 per cent.
A further two out of three people said they felt Ireland’s reputation as a modern society will be strengthened by allowing same-sex couples to have civil marriages, while three out of five people agree that allowing same-sex couples to have civil marriages will promote a more tolerant environment in Ireland.
When asked about adoption, 69 per cent of people agree that being raised in a loving home by parents is a more significant factor for a child’s wellbeing than being raised by a mother and a father. A total of 54 per cent agree that same-sex couples should be legally allowed to jointly adopt a child.
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