IRELAND_ATTITUDE
Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex.’ This is the line the government of the Republic of Ireland have proposed adding to the country’s constitution, which would enable gay couples to marry. But as a republic with a constitution, it’s necessary for the people to ratify this statement in a national vote, and that referendum is fast approaching on May 22nd. Falling just one day before the Eurovision Song Contest, a delightful gay serendipity means the two sets of results will roll in together.
Upon its creation in 1937, the Republic of Ireland went from the hands of Britain straight into the clutches of the Catholic Church, and antigay laws that had been left over from the days of colonialism weren’t about to be reversed by the new government. Its constitution put the traditional family at the heart of society and afforded no place for thorny issues like divorce, abortion, contraception or homosexuality. The process of updating this has been a long social and legal journey, but today – despite the Church’s continued opposition – every single party in Ireland’s parliament supports same-sex marriage, and public support has remained around 75% for the past two years. In contrast, the issue divided parties at Westminster, and UK opinion polls showed only around 55% of the public supported the measure when it was introduced in the summer of 2013. More striking yet is the juxtaposition of the UK having decriminalised homosexuality in 1967, while Ireland only got around to it in 1993. Gay rights may have accelerated in the past two decades there, but the years before that were bleak – with economic depression, and a Church which dominated social morality.