Early results in the marriage equality referendum indicate a very strong showing for the yes vote. It's looking like a celebratory mood is emerging already within the Irish gay community, although we won't know the exact results until a bit later.
From the Irish Times:
The counting is continuing, but the smiles of all those who voted Yes are widening.
The chests of Yes campaigners are being pushed out; the tears and celebrations are likely to follow when confirmation of the results are announced in Dublin Castle.
Not only has Ireland has agreed to same-sex marriage, it has done so in a louder voice than many could have imagined, carried on the back of a remarkable turnout and an engagement by younger people not seen in years.
Following years of the politics of recession and bailout, the young were given something they could believe in, campaign for and vote for. And they did.
Yet, this one was largely for the younger generation, which turned out in its droves. Stories of emigrants returning home to vote and huge increases in voter registration offered indications of what was to come but the final results were astonishing.
From
JMG:
Less than one hour into the counting of the ballots, leading Ireland activist Panti Bliss is calling it a landslide in favor of same-sex marriage. Three minutes later David Quinn, founder of the anti-gay Iona Institute tweeted his congratulations to the Yes Equality side.
Update 1:
From Evan Wolfson of Freedom To Marry:
With a resounding vote in favor, Ireland now becomes the first country in the world to pass the freedom to marry by popular referendum, as well as the 21st nation and the 10th predominantly Catholic country in which same-sex couples can marry. Our Irish colleagues at Yes Equality ran a magnificent campaign and Freedom to Marry is proud to have shared what we’ve learned in our own campaign here in the US. The global momentum for the freedom to marry reflects and reinforces the progress we are making here in the United States – and we look now to the Supreme Court to bring our country to national resolution, following Ireland’s good example.
Update 2:
Update 3:
It looks like the final tally will show the "yes" vote at 62.1% and the "no" vote at 37.9%.
Returning Officer Ríona Ní Fhlanghaile declares that Ireland has passed the same-sex marriage referendum by 1,201,607 votes (62.1%) to 734,300 (37.9%).
via
rte.ie
