Happy St. Patrick's Day! It's a day when everyone claims to be a little bit Irish.
However, today in Ireland, LGBT citizens are gearing up for a historic event. On May 22, Ireland will become the first country to hold a nation-wide referendum on marriage equality. This is historic and precedent-setting move will likely have implications for other countries around Europe and possibly around the world.
GLAAD has been bringing you the news of marriage equality in Ireland. Take a look at some of the developments:
- The #VoteWithUs online video campaign helps Irish voters to find and share compelling reasons to support marriage equality for LGBT couples in the upcoming referendum.
- Irish public figures came out in advance of the referendum, including Health Minister Leo Varadkar, High Court Justice Aileen Donnelly, football legend Valerie Mulcahy, and Catholic priest, Father Martin Dolan.
- Irish-born actor Colin Farrell has been encouraging the people of Ireland to vote for marriage, recalling how his older brother was bullied as a child for being different and as an adult unable to marry he loves in his homeland.
Polling right now is very strong in favor of marriage equality, but advocates are not letting up the pressure. Irish LGBT leaders told GLAAD that strong polling is not an indication for victory. In the end, it comes down to voter turnout, which means every supporter needs to vote yes on May 22. A major effort is currently underway to ensure that marriage equality supporters show up to the polls to vote yes.
What can you do to support marriage equality in Ireland?
- Visit Yes Equality to learn more about the campaign.
- Watch and share the videos from the #VoteWithUs campaign.
- Purchase some Yes Equality merchandise to benefit the three organizations in the YesEquality campaign – GLEN, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and Marriage Equality.
- Encourage Irish citizens living abroad to return to Ireland for the vote. Visit Get the Boat 2 Vote to learn more.
- Reach out to Irish friends and family to tell them how important a yes vote is. If they are supportive, encourage them to pledge to vote yes. If they are unsure, talk to them about how important the votes for marriage equality meant in US states like Maine, Maryland, Washington, Minnesota, and elsewhere meant. It's also important to let them know of the ongoing struggle to maintain marriage equality across the US.
With global support, determination, and a little luck, Ireland can achieve marriage equality history by this spring. And it will take all of us to make it happen.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!