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Ireland: Before And After

With the final ballots counted, the vote was 62 percent in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage, and 38 percent opposed.
The turnout was large — more than 60 percent of the 3.2 million eligible voters cast ballots, and only one district out of 43 voted the measure down. Cheers broke out among the crowd of supporters who had gathered in the courtyard of Dublin Castle when Returning Officer Riona Ni Fhlanghaile announced around 7 p.m. that the ballot had passed, 1,201,607 votes to 734,300.
– Danny Hakim and Douglas Dalby, NY Times

This vote was perhaps the clearest proof that the path to gay equality didn't rely on convincing courts that gays and lesbians are a minority entitled to protection from the majority or winning over a relatively small group of lawmakers. Though three U.S. states had enacted marriage equality by referenda in 2012 — two of which have larger populations than Ireland — the fact that that victory could be repeated outside the U.S. and change an entire country was unprecedented.
Before Ireland, a country whose sodomy law wasn't struck down until 1993, the goal of changing a nation's mind about LGBT rights seemed daunting if not impossible. After Ireland, it seems like it may just be a matter of time even in countries where public support for LGBT equality remains very low and where powerful religious institutions are vocally opposed…this punctures one of the most consistent arguments by LGBT rights opponents against marriage equality: that it is something imposed by judges and political elites over the will of the people. And it will send a message to judges and politicians in countries where partnerships' rights are most hotly debated, LGBT activists believe.
– J. Lester Feder, A New Era For Global LGBT Rights Begins After Ireland's Vote for Same-Sex Marriage, www.buzzfeed.com

In a world increasingly wracked by violence and economic austerity, Ireland's vote for LGBT equal marriage rights Friday is a welcome achievement for freedom and equality. While no minority's rights should be held hostage to a popularity contest, it is nonetheless gratifying that overwhelmingly Catholic Ireland rejected the church hierarchy's bigotry and instead voted for equal rights.
In winning the world's first-ever national referendum on LGBT rights, our community should remember that we would not have won this victory without the solidarity of non-LGBTs. This should not only inspire gratitude on our part, but dedication to actively campaigning for the social and legal equality of ALL other oppressed peoples. As economic malaise grips many countries, we know that scapegoating of immigrants, racial and religious minorities can rise quite rapidly, and so we as LGBTs must respond with solidarity whenever ANY group's rights are threatened.
Also, while we rejoice in this huge victory, we would be foolish to think or act as though civil rights progress is inevitable. While today northwest Europe basks in the glow of yesterday's vote, in southeast Europe, proto-fascist parties and organizations have grown at alarming rates in recent years, with LGBTs second only to immigrants as targets of their violence. In the U.S., our LGBT movement has grown alarmingly complacent after several years of back to back victories, and needs to be much more involved in the #blacklivesmatter protests against police violence, the campaigns for economic equality, immigrant rights, and other justice struggles.
While many well-meaning people have predicted an "inevitable" win for equal marriage rights in this spring's Supreme Court decisions, a careful reading of the recent oral arguments before the Court shows the vote will likely be close, and could very well go against us.
So while we rejoice in yesterday's victory in Ireland, we know that civil rights progress doesn't magically fall from the sky, but requires activism. As the great anti-slavery activist Frederick Douglass put it, "without struggle, there is no progress."

Andy Thayer
Co-founder, Gay Liberation Network, Chicago
http://www.gayliberation.net

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