By John Mack Freeman
Jubilant crowds cheered throughout Ireland on Saturday as the results began to pour in from that country’s referendum on same-sex marriage. More than 61 percent of those voting in the referendum approved the country legalizing same-sex marriage for the first time.
The “Yes” campaign as the efforts of those in favor of same-sex marriage were collectively known fought an incredibly positive and active campaign to get out the vote and convince people of the need for this change. And in heavily Catholic Ireland, their efforts have paid off. This is the first time in the world that a country has approved same-sex marriage by national referendum. It is further expected that this change will bring further pressure on Northern Ireland and Commonwealth-member Australia to revisit their marriage laws, though how quickly the law may change in those areas is unclear.
Support for the referendum ran deeply through the country, with all but one of the legislative districts approving the measure. In fact, the picture from the top of this article is the vote from a small child found in a ballot box who tried to vote in favor of the referendum. Sadly, the vote was disallowed for being ineligible.
It will take a few months for same-sex marriages to start in the country. The measure has to be officially ratified by the legislature and approved by the Cabinet. Given the timing issues and the directions of Irish law, it is expected that the first official same-sex marriages will take place in the latter part of this year. In the mean time, civil partnerships will go forward. Maith thú, Ireland!
