Same-Sex Marriage Referendum - What You Need to Know and Why You Need to Vote

On May 22nd, Ireland will vote in a referendum for same-sex marriage. This means that same-sex couples will be able to legally marry one another and will have the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts. In other words, marriage between a man and a man or a woman and a woman will be granted the same legal rights as marriage between a man and woman and will be granted the same status under the Constitution. Likewise, these couples will be recognised as a family and therefore be entitled to the Constitutional protection for families.

Although most polls done so far have shown that the Yes side is popular, there are many institutions and groups who are advocating the No side, and many polls have shown that there is a large number of people in the undecided middle-ground. In my opinion, it is this middle ground which will ultimately decide the outcome of the referendum. From talking to family and friends, I know that a lot of the people in my life will be voting yes. Most of these are young, under the age of 30. I read somewhere recently that the people most likely to vote Yes in the upcoming referendum are young, women, and urban. I am all three, so surprise surprise, I'll be arriving at the polling station carrying rainbow flags and singing ABBA songs. But I know of people from way outside of Dublin who are voting no. I know of people over the age of 30 who are voting no. And I know men who are voting no. One of these people is my age and is voting no. One of these people has a gay son and is voting no. To anyone, this is shocking, but to me especially it's shocking because up until right before this referendum, I've lived in a happy little bubble thinking that everyone thought the way that I thought. It's only since sparking conversations with people about the referendum that I've understood just how much we don't have a guaranteed outcome on May 22nd.

I want to get something straight here, that I do not want to shove a yes vote down anyone's throat. Yes, in an ideal world, everyone in Ireland would vote Yes and prove that we're moving forward as a society. But that's totally not the case. The institutions and groups that are pushing for a No vote have been making a lot of (in my opinion) uneducated and irrational points about how Ireland will change for the worse if a Yes vote wins. One of the major groups representing the No side is the Mothers and Fathers Matter group, who have been making a lot of radical statements, in my opinion. Here are seven reasons to vote No according to the Mothers and Fathers Matter group. I actually love reading the reasons not to vote Yes, because they make me more sure of my Yes vote. Saying that all children need a mother and a father is ridiculous, and undermines the value of single parents in the country. Reason 3 to vote No, according to the group, is that "A Child's Identity is Important". It's just not important if that child then turns out to be gay, but whatever, right? Other reasons to vote No are to "Keep Ideology out of Schools" (surely this is the ultimate contradiction as most schools in the country are Catholic?!), to "Protect conscious rights and freedoms" (except for those of gay people, of course), and "Every child deserves a mothers love", which is the most insulting and insensitive reason of all, as there are already plenty of single heterosexual dad's in the country that are doing a great job.

Today, Riyadh Khalif, an Irish Youtuber, put up a video about growing up gay in Ireland, and what it would mean to him if a Yes vote was passed. If anyone reading this post is in the undecided middle-ground of the vote, then please please please listen to the things Riyadh says in this video. Everyone should have the right to love whoever they want to, and a No vote will only push Ireland back to the 1940s. When my future son/daughter come to me and ask what I voted in the referendum, whether they're straight/gay/bi/trans/asexual, I'll be able to proudly tell them that I voted Yes to make Irish history. Will you?