The Republic of Ireland has become the first country in the world to pass marriage equality through a national referendum, and the 21st country to decide to afford same-sex couples full marriage rights.
With votes counted from nearly all of Ireland’s 43 parliamentary constituencies, the measure will pass with more than 60 percent of voters approving, according to official results.
More than 1.8 million Irish voters participated in the election, about 60 percent of the total electorate in the majority Catholic nation.
According to a CNN report, Ireland’s political parties all backed the “yes” campaign.
Deputy Prime Minister (or Tanaiste) Joan Burton said the anticipated “yes” vote was Ireland’s “rainbow moment.” While the final result is yet to be declared, she said, the scale of the “yes” vote was a “powerful message” to send to the world.
The referendum asked voters to approve language that updates Ireland’s constitution to state, “Marriage may be contracted in accordance with the law by two persons without distinction as to their sex.” Through an unprecedented voter registration campaign and voter mobilization effort by the Irish LGBT community, including the Yes Equality campaign, voters voted overwhelming for equality.
“Voters in Ireland had a rare opportunity to make their country and the world more just and more equal — and that’s just what they did,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “As these election results prove, momentum for equality reaches around the globe. HRC is proud to join our partners in Ireland in celebrating this historic victory which guarantees that everyone has the same right to marry the person they love. Love can’t wait, not in the United States or in Ireland, and it is clear it won’t wait any longer.”
