Same Sex Marriage Referendum Mega Thread - MOD WARNING IN FIRST POST

sporina wrote: »

hi i have been reading the information on the referendum and the only query i have is, what are the differences between a marriage and civil partnership in terms of social supports?

What do you mean by social supports.

On the legal differences and difference in status, i would refer you to my previous posts here:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=95485126

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=95485467

RobertKK wrote: »

Say you are voting No here and it is like jam attracting wasps on a summers day. Some people don't mind saying how they will vote, others want a quiet life and saying yes is for a quieter life, certainly in this thread.
There is more acceptance of yes voters than there is of no voters.

Take a step back and think why that is. The ethos of the yes side is equality for all consenting adults, compared to the No side whose belief is that people should be considered lesser because of an inherent trait they have no control over. Furthermore, the organisers of the Yes campaign have been largely open and honest in their campaign material, sticking to their central belief of equality of love. In contrast to this, the No campaign organisers have openly lied in their material and engage in purposely deceptive tactics to confuse the electorate into voting no. UNESCO (and the author of the paper) have had to come out and say that MAFM have deliberately misrepresented their research, while the RefCom and Adoption Authority have both had to come out repeatedly to clarify that the central claims of the No campaign are untrue and irrelevant to this referendum.
Repeatedly, people who have claimed to be voting no in this thread have either refused to engage in discussion, or refuse to debate the actual content of the referendum.

RobertKK wrote: »

Ger Brennan said he is voting no, and it was just looking for abuse, he was attacked for teaching children with those views, he was accused of making his employers happy, he was attacked over his faith and the fact he is a religion teacher.
A Yes voter doesn't receive the same scrutiny. I brought up Ursula Halligan and her past lack of compassion and it was all deemed irrelevant. It was a great example of how yes and no are treated.

There is a very clear distinction between the two.
Ger Brennan voiced a very clearly misinformed position (based on adoption and surrogacy, which again have been confirmed repeatedly by the neutral bodies involved to not be relevant to the debate) and is openly advocating for discrimination of others with no loss to himself.
Ursula Halligan gave a personal account of impact institutional homophobia has had on her life, and how she has had to hide who she is for 54 years and suffered because of it. She is revealing the human cost of institutional discrimination as an individual directly affected by it, which is far more than anyone advocating a no can say.

Bannasidhe wrote: »

I know for a fact because I drive it several times a week that between New Inn School in Glanmire Cork and the National School in Castletownroche there is one yes poster. One solitary AAA YES poster near Glanmire school... lost count of the No posters but there are two by the church in Castletownroche, 3 near the Amber garage in Ballyhooley and unknown number in Watergrasshill and Rathcormac.

There are hardly any no posters in Wexford, a place I have always considered ultra conservative. I am very impressed, but will wait to see which way the vote goes here before I get too excited. Mick Wallace owns a football pitch on the way into Wexford and it has a massive pink sign that says 'Love and let live, vote yes'. I was in town today and I saw several yes posters on windows of private houses and two rainbow flags out windows. It's very encouraging.

There was a no poster a few weeks ago on a light pole right on the boundary of the Aldi Car Park in the town where we live. I know someone who works there and apparently Aldi contacted M&F Matter and requested it be moved. It was only there for 24 hours

Kiwi in IE wrote: »

There are hardly any no posters in Wexford, a place I have always considered ultra conservative. I am very impressed, but will wait to see which way the vote goes here before I get too excited. Mick Wallace owns a football pitch on the way into Wexford and it has a massive pink sign that says 'Love and let live, vote yes'. I was in town today and I saw several yes posters on windows of private houses and two rainbow flags out windows. It's very encouraging.

There was a no a few weeks ago on a light pole right on the boundary of the Aldi Car Park in the town where we live. I know someone who works there and apparently Aldi rang M&F Matter and requested it be moved. It was only there for 24 hours

Mick Wallace, Bono, Daniel O'Donnell...


The downside of all the support the Yes campaign is getting is all the unflattering opinions I am being forced to reconsider.

floggg wrote: »

Can I ask what concerns or doubts you might have about a Yes vote?

I am happy to answer any genuine questions (we can do it over PM if you want).

I'm not too sure about the accuracy of the arguments on both sides. But anyways I will say this. If the yes side want to win they need to stop bullying others into voting yes. People are afraid to admit they are voting no.

Is it true that the names on the birth cert will be changed to Parent 1 and Parent 2??

danube wrote: »

I'm not too sure about the accuracy of the arguments on both sides. But anyways I will say this. If the yes side want to win they need to stop bullying others into voting yes. People are afraid to admit they are voting no.

Can I ask what bullying you're referring to? Would it be similar to the hate mail received by Brendan Courtney, for example? Or the shop which was threatened with direct violence in the middle of the night for having a YesEquality poster up? Or what about Una Mullally who received a letter just this morning saying her cancer diagnosis was a result of her "homosexual spirit"? Or outside of the referendum, what about the multiple violent homophobic attacks gay people must deal with regularly, such as this lesbian couple in Limerick? Or this man who was spat on and attacked by 4 men for kissing his partner goodbye?

I'm sorry as a gay man it makes me ****ing furious when the No campaign tried to paint themselves as the victim. I was physically grabbed by No campaigners in Swords main street last week for wearing a Yes Equality badge who shouted that I was a sodomite in front of everyone else as I walked away. Was ****ing mortifying.

danube wrote: »

Is it true that the names on the birth cert will be changed to Parent 1 and Parent 2??

No. It's not true at all.

Another intentional mistruth by the no side.

danube wrote: »

I'm not too sure about the accuracy of the arguments on both sides. But anyways I will say this. If the yes side want to win they need to stop bullying others into voting yes. People are afraid to admit they are voting no.

think that might be more likely to do with feelings of shame, perhaps?
If you truly believe in your vote and are proud for your choice aren't you going to be comfortable speaking about it and defending yourself.

I mean, if the no vote TRULY believe they are doing it "for the children" why aren't they out wearing badges and trying to convince others to do the same, why are they hiding and keeping secret?

Oh wait, because it has nothing to do with children at all.

danube wrote: »

Is it true that the names on the birth cert will be changed to Parent 1 and Parent 2??

Not as such. The traditional birth cert is actually being done away with. It'll be replaced with a barcode on the bum. Left cheek for a girl, right for a boy.

We'll all have to have it done apparently. New form of ID. Passport, driving licence, or moon the doorman.