Ireland holds vote on same-sex marriages

LONDON: Another referendum took place on Britain’s doorstep but thankfully, this one didn’t give Prime Minister David Cameron sleepless nights.
The Irish voted on Friday on whether to allow gay marriage, just two decades after decriminalizing homosexuality, with a strong early turnout likely to favour the ‘Yes’ side.
READ ALSO: Gay marriage around the world
With the once mighty Catholic Church’s influence ravaged by child abuse scandals, opinion polls indicated the proposal would pass by as much as two-to-one, making Ireland the first country to adopt same-sex marriage via a popular vote.
More than 3.2 million people were asked whether they want to amend the country’s constitution to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry. If the “yes” vote wins, a new section to the Irish constitution will read, ‘Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex,’ according to Frances Fitzgerald, minster for justice and equality.
On a survey of polling stations at 1200 GMT, Irish national broadcaster RTE said turnout could potentially be one of the highest for a referendum in years. "It's quite amazing. I'd say at this stage the turnout would be about 50 percent more than the last referendum," James Barry, returning officer for Dublin, told Newstalk radio, referring to the 39 percent who voted in an unsuccessful bid to abolish the upper house of parliament in 2013.
Polling stations opened at 7am with voting continuing until 10pm. Counting of the votes would start on Saturday.

At the Merrion Square in Dublin, outside the childhood home of the 19th-century Irish author, playwright and poet Oscar Wilde, two placards read: ‘Vote Yes’ and ‘Equality for everybody’. The writer was publicly shamed in Britain and jailed for being gay.
International interest made the hashtag #VoteYes the top trending issue on Twitter and thousands of Irish expatriates made the trip home from Britain and as far afield as New York and Sydney to vote, groups encouraging the ‘Yes’ vote, using the hashtag #hometovote, said. Gay marriage is backed by all political parties, championed by big employers and endorsed by celebrities.
Same-sex marriage is currently legal in 19 countries worldwide including Britain. Britain allowed same sex marriages from March 2014.