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.

Rady, I simply don't believe you would have ever voted yes.

And what is there to educate about gay/Lesbian relationships? Two men or two women can love each other in the same way a man and woman does. There, educated.

Really hoping for a 'yes' majority but have the same worry that there are more 'no' voters than there seem to be. We have a couple of family members voting no 'for the sake of the children' but most of our friends/family are voting 'yes'.

I have no problem at all with two mammys / two daddy's etcetera my issue is it will be in the school curriculum and I am not comfortable with young children getting sort of the facts of life early - sure let them not question the usual family unit until much later - it's more a preserving their innocence issue with me iykwim - I have close gay friends who have a civil partnership - I'm sorry but I'm a no and If they ask I'll tell them -
Today I saw one of the no posters - they have been so twee and off putting but now I'm beginning to agree that children do need both a mammy and a daddy - maybe I'm verbalising what a lot of people are afraid to but hey ( and I am fully aware of The existence of lone parents / lesbian partners with existing children etc )
As I said if it's a yes I won't be upset or anything I have weighed things up and it's what I'm comfortable with and am entitled to hold a differing opinion ??

I am voting yes. I am straight. My DC's never had any need to be "educated" about gay relationships. They just accept it as normal unless told otherwise.

I agree with Teddybear. Rady, you are looking for justifications for your no vote. Your reasons stated here are weak. I don't believe a yes was ever on the cards.

I was watching Modern Family with my 14 year old ds, 4 year old dd was there too sticking ballerina stickers in her sticker book.

Dd then said 'Why does she have two dads?' (referring to Lily who has gay dads) and ds just said 'We have a Mam and Dad but some kids have two mams or two dads or just a mam or just a dad. There's just all different kind of families.' And dd replied 'Oh' and went back to her sticking.

I think children will only think it's a major big deal if that's how it's presented to them.

Raddy, you don't want your children to question the "usual family unit" (whatever that is) until much later? What planet will they be living on then because they will be going to school with children from all sorts of family units and backgrounds.

I have close gay friends, a couple who have been together for 20 years. I can't bear the thought of them being discriminated against so either you're not a very good friend or you are simply being untruthful when you say you have gay friends. That's not just aimed at you by the way, every no voter seems to have gay friends (or knows gay people who are voting no )

By the way, do you keep your children away from your gay friends, to preserve their innocence?
The children in my gay friend's lives don't bat an eyelid at their relationship.

Getting the facts of life early? What the heck are you talking about? Why should explaining couples love each other require a discussion about sex? My DB is gay and has been with his partner since before my kids were born. My DBIL is the same age and straight and has had a partner for a similar length time. Neither of these relationships has required me to explain the facts of life to my children before I or they are ready to. They were simply Uncle X and Y. The existence of couples does not require a detailed description of bedroom activities to go with them in order for children to understand the relationship.

Children need someone who will love and has the capacity to provide adequate care for them. The tragedy of the world we live in is many children don't have this, not the sex of any parent that can and does provide,

MIL is in her 60's and very Catholic. She's not going to vote as she thinks gay people should be able to marry but doesn't want to vote against church teaching.

Very hard to tell how it will go as the Yes side are very vocal and the No side are staying more quiet.

It's amazing how much Ireland has changed as the idea of this ever possibly happening would not have been imaginable even 30 yrs ago

What will happen to your six year old if they learn that some people have two mums etc? Will they catch it?

I have a six year old. DP's aunt is gay and lives with partner. I was asked if they are married (they are not) but told her they live together and love each other and some women do that.

it occupied DD's mind for about 1.3 seconds and then she moved on to the next topic. She just doesn't care.

I'm Irish - grew up in city and recently moved to a rural area. I am a yes voter - it'll take me an hour to drive tomorrow to where I'm registered to vote and another hour back. I will be really upset if the no side wins - I think it will be such a slap in the face to the gay community and to all the different families that make up our society today.
I am sad that a lot of my family are voting no. Dhs family are voting no because 'civil partnership should be enough' and 'it's just not right'. I think there will be a stark rural/urban divide in the vote. It's come up in conversation a few times and gets heated very quickly - I literally have to walk away I get so cross with the narrow minded ness.
My own brother is voting no because he says children of gay people will be bullied at school - no amount of trying to tease out this idea will make him change his mind.

Honestly - I appreciate we all have different opinions but anyone who tells me they are voting no goes down a little in my estimation.

I was watching Ireland am recently and Alan Hughes was saying that a gay friends mother was voting no just because she 'didn't like Enda'...!

I hope that there is a massive and overwhelming vote yes tomorrow.

I will be voting yes. As will my Mum, Dad, sisters, my 88 year old Nan, and pretty much all of my friends. A huge number of my friends have been out campaigning for Yes Equality. My FB news feed is full of people sharing photos of themselves out campaigning for a Yes vote. I know quite a few people living in the UK who are flying home tomorrow to vote.

In fact, I'm pretty sure I only know 3 people who are voting no. My Dad's uncle, who has been posting lots of awful homophobic shite on FB lately, my MIL who definitely homophobic (and racist, and generally bitter and unpleasant. FIL, thankfully, will be voting yes), and a member of my extended family who is so closely involved with the Iona Institute, she counts David Quinn among her close personal friends.

I so desperately hope that there is a yes vote tomorrow. I also can't wait until it's over, as I am so, so sick of having No campaign bullshit propaganda shoved through my letterbox, even though they can clearly see the Yes Equality poster in my front door window.

I suspect that the truth is this:
there are many people who cannot get their heads around the fact that not everyone is just like themselves. Their reaction to 'otherness' is mistrust, fear and maybe even loathing.
They are realising that this is an increasingly unpopular viewpoint and are therefore forced to latch onto the most spurious and foolish arguments to attempt to justify their secret prejudice.
They are aware of and ashamed of the flimsiness of their arguments and so they react with aggression when challenged.

'I'm beginning to agree that children do need both a mammy and a daddy - maybe I'm verbalising what a lot of people are afraid to'

Really Rady? I have many friends who were raised by just their Dads. One because her Mum fucked off with another man when she was an infant, and lots more because their Mums died when they were little. Clearly it's astounding that any of them turned out to be wonderful, well adjusted people, what with their lack of a Mammy.

One of my closest friends is a lesbian. She and her partner are raising their son to be a wonderful, tolerant person. He's a lovely boy, and much better educated with regards to feminism and women's rights than some forty year olds I know. He is certainly not suffering from having two Mums, as opposed to a Mum and Dad.

Also, you are certainly not voicing anything that I, or most of the people I know, are afraid to. I, and the vast majority of my friends and relatives are open and proud re our intention to vote yes.

I'm not Irish, so won't be voting, but I think it's a bit 'off' that you're trying to rally Irish voters. The whole point is that people can choose how they damn well like to vote!
Internet spoutings and vitriol is only likely to push the final outcome further away from what you want.

Tess, are you against all canvassing, when it comes to General Elections or referenda? Surely urging people to vote a certain way is the whole point of campaigning?

Also, if people would vote either yes or no, purely to spite campaigners on the other side, they are clearly small minded eejits. Do you think so little of people? That they will change their vote just to get at some stranger on the internet who doesn't know them or how,they intend to vote? Really?

I'm voting yes. I really hope it goes through. There is a very good article here

Fintan O’Toole: Marriage was nothing to be proud of in 1983

"In my adult lifetime, contrary to the No campaign’s image of an unchanging institution, Irish marriage has undergone revolutionary change. Almost all of those changes were opposed by conservatives as threats to marriage"

www.irishtimes.com/opinion/fintan-o-toole-marriage-was-nothing-to-be-proud-of-in-1983-1.2217299#.VVrgJwvDeG0.twitter

This is hilarious

Introducing the Heterophobic Taxi Driver

Good luck today Ireland. I can't believe anybody would be so nasty, unpleasant and stupid that they would vote NO but, looking at this thread, it appears I was wrong. :(

Lets hope good triumphs over evil today. I'm rooting for you.

Nothing but bigotry and a special sort of inherently selfish mean-spiritedness could possibly prompt a 'no' vote.

Gay people marrying impacts on people who would vote 'no' exactly not at all.

The very fact that someone has happily admitted upthread that they were throw LGB people's rights under a bus purely because of perceived 'bully boy' campaigning tactics proves that.

I honestly think some of my older family members are voting no because they think being gay is a choice and that by allowing gay marriage it will 'encourage' more people to be gay! My mil thinks this!

I'm voting yes but I'm worried that there are a lot of undeclared 'No' voters out there who might swing the result. My younger brother surprised me by saying (as late as last night) that he's not sure yet how he'll vote. Anyone know when we'll have the result?

I just voted. There's a great turn out which is hopefully good for the yes vote. Try a little kindness, everyone.