To rally Irish voters here and ask is anyone voting No tomorrow?

[LayMeDown]

I know there's lots of Irish on MN. I don't know anyone in RL voting No. But polls indicates it's tightening a lot. I'm getting scared it won't pass and my lovely brother and his partner will be left out in the cold again. What are you all hearing in your circles?

FYI for any non Irish there is a referendum tomorrow on introducing same sex marriage in Ireland.

[MitzyLeFrouf]

I bet loads of members of the clergy will be nipping into their polling station and ticking the Yes box.

[ThisTimeIAmMagic]

Exactly Madreco they really don't even see the irony. TWATS! MASSIVE TWATS!

Now I've got the rage.

[ThisTimeIAmMagic]

I think your mum is right Maryz. Because of course lesbians are hot, every porn - watching hetero male knows that

[amothersplaceisinthewrong]

I hope the Yes Vote wins. Church and State need completely separating. Is abortion legal in Ireland yet?

[MitzyLeFrouf]

Is abortion legal in Ireland yet?

Another battle yet to be fought!

[LayMeDown]

YY Maryz I was saying this to DH last night. That clearly the issue is with two men and not two women. All focused on the loss of a mother's love. Just an obsession with see like you say.
And Lima you really need to research a bit better. This vote will have absolutely no impact on surrogacy or gay people becoming parents. That will happen or not happen independently of this vote
Voting No will have one impact only. IT WILL DENY ACCESS TO MARRIAGE TO HOMOSEXUAL PEOPLE. Something you apparently have no problem with. So why on earth are you voting No?

[MitzyLeFrouf]

I'm so cheered by all the reports and all the tweets of Irish people making their way back home from all sorts of far flung places in order to vote.

[Calfon]

I am voting yes and I have only met one person in real life who is voting No. I think the turn out on the day will be big for those who are certain of their position. While I am terrified that there is a huge silent No out there I have never seen so many young people enthused about voting as I have seen in recent weeks so I am cautiously optimistic that the Yes side will carry the day.

[leedy]

Given that previous court cases by heterosexual people claiming that as married couples they had a legal right to reproduce came to the conclusion that this wasn't an unlimited right (constitutionproject.ie/?p=503), I can't see how a Yes vote will somehow "inevitably" lead to gay couples demanding and getting some kind of legal entitlement to children by surrogacy/donor. Another big red herring. Also as has been said many times already, gay couples can already adopt (and indeed have children by other means).

[Egged]

My parents and my ILS, all four devout, daily-mass-going, rural Catholics in their mid-70s, are all voting yes. My ILs are visiting us here tomorrow, but I just discovered they were able to arrange a postal vote or to vote somehow, so those yeses won't be lost.

[Egged]

Also, would be interested in the rationale behind the gay people voting no mentioned by one or more posters on this or another thread. I have lots of gay Irish and Ireland-living friends (including several who are committed Catholics who met through LGBT-friendly church events), although I no longer live there myself, and not one of them has mentioned any gay acquaintance of theirs voting no...?

[MitzyLeFrouf]

Every time I see John Waters waffling on about the evils of a Yes vote I wonder for the 1000th time how he and Sinéad O'Connor ever had a relationship.

Two more mismatched people I can't imagine!

[Abraid2]

Bookies are generally more accurate than pollsters.

They weren't a fortnight ago in the UK! Sadly, a domestic crisis prevented me from putting on a bet on David Cameron remaining as PM at odds of 3.2 (11/5). Had I laid that bet off when the exit poll came out, I'd have made ££££.

First time I can remember it happening, though.

[Tomodachi]

Another "Yes" voter here but amazingly some of the younger parents in dc's school are voting and campaigning for the No vote! Younger than me I mean. I am so surprised. They also happen to be vociferous Sinn Fein supporters so maybe are fond of a bit of controversy. I am trying to teach my (yes supporting) children that everyone is entitled to their (wrong ) opinions and that you must listen to their arguments with tolerance and respect but the kids in school are giving the kids of these "No" voters a hard time because of their parents (and hence the childrens) stance. It is a very contentious issue here. My parents and I do not discuss it because neither of us can grasp the others opposing stance - amicably even though we have tried time and again.

[madreloco]

I've just seen an article in the DM about the comedians video in support of the YES.
The comments section is very much on the NO side . You "I'm so tolerant but I'm voting NO" peeps, is that a gang you're happy being aligned with?

[Anniegetyourgun]

Fingers crossed for a resounding Yes from a (terminally straight, old-fashioned and slightly religious) supporter in England. I remember joining in more than one heated debate on MN when same sex marriage was about to be enacted in the UK, and found some of the "arguments" against* really rather depressing, but at least they didn't have a chance to vote. Well, it's law now and I think I can safely say... oh no, wait, this country IS going to hell in a handcart. But it's not gay marriages causing it! (Did any of the No material mention floods? Or are only British - and American - bigots that stupid?)

*Why did I put "arguments" in quotes? Because they tended to be statements of belief rather than factual or logical points, and were comprehensively debunked by the vast majority. Hurrah.

[tulipbulbs]

I'm Irish. When she was 13/14 my daughter told us that she was bisexual, largely because she had a girl crush. Now she is 17 and she says maybe she is or maybe it's just that the boys she meets are uninspiring. She is wonderful: beautiful, but more especially, creative, intelligent and the kindest person. She is confident enough to shrug at whatever way the dice eventually falls.
We canvassed together for the Yes vote. We were shown the ropes by people who were so considered, confident and lovely that I came home hoping she turns out to be gay.
Whatever she is I want her to grow up/mature in a country where we can celebrate when someone is lucky enough to get her, no matter what.
It seems a long time ago now but I was separated and in a relatively new relationship when the second divorce referendum was ongoing. Much as gay people are being told, my now husband and I were told by both our families and most of our friends that "it wouldn't be fair for us to have children". Lots of these people are good parents, but, I suspect that we are better. We have 3 daughters and they are incredibly secure, confident and happy because we love each other and have the discipline to be their parents and not their friends.

[Anniegetyourgun]

Further to my post above ("was about to be enacted in the UK"): I apologise to the Scots, it was being enacted in England and Wales. I just looked it up and realised it was a devolved issue. Scotland got it the following year.

[MelanieWiggles]

I think this will be a close vote, much closer than the polls are predicting. I think it's really important that young people vote and I worry that a lot of the student population, mid exam season, won't be in a position to travel home to do so. I think no voters are likely to be far more motivated to vote and the fact that the polls have been predicting a run away yes means some yes voters may think it's ok to not vote as there is headroom there.

I hope it is carried (am voting yes) but I suspect the overall yes vote will be somewhere between 50 and 55%.

[MelanieWiggles]

Also - does anybody know the extent of the media blackout provisions ? Ads from the Iona institute keep popping up every time DS tries to watch Dora on YouTube !

[MrsTerryPratchett]

In my sample of all my friends, we have same sex and opposite sex, single and step parents, adopted and biological. Actually more of my same-sex couple friends seem to be reproducing or adopting than opposite sex couple friends. In this sample I can tell you that, boringly, we all seem to have the same sort of challenges and rewards. Except for prejudice, which is unevenly distributed.

I think the blended/step families edge ahead on slightly more complicated, if I had to pick.

That aside, isn't talking about surrogacy, when it's not happening in Ireland, a little like saying, "if they make [this future thing] legal, I want to be able to discriminate against gay people then"? Well, campaign then, in the imaginary future. Not now, against an entirely different point. It's such odd logic.

As a married atheist, I don't think marriage is the union of a man and a woman under God. Do the 'No' camp also campaign against atheists marrying?