Once illiberal Roman Catholic Republic of Ireland has trailblazed the world by voting to legalise marriage for gay and lesbian couples.
A referendum to amend the nation's constitition to allow same sex unions backed the change after yesterday's big turnout of voters by 62 per cent in favour and 58 per cent against. All but one of the republic's 43 parliamentary constituencies voted Yes.
Ireland is the first country in the world to hold a national poll to decide the issue.
Young people - who were at the heart of the Yes campaign - enrolled to vote in their tens of thousands and then boosted the turnout in huge numbers.
I say yes to all same-sex couples - Edna Kenny Ireland's PM. Guardian newspaper
Prime minister Enda Kenny, leader of the dominant Fine Gael party in the ruling coalition, told the nation in a live broadcast: "I say to all same-sex couples in our country: this is about you, it’s about your right to say two small words, made up of three simple letters – I do."
He added: “For you, in your lives together, may they become your letters of freedom.”
In its euphoria, liberal British newspaper, the Guardian, which, like The-Latest.Com, supports gay marriage, misspelled taoiseach Kenny's first name in a news story today and called him "Edna". It was a faux pas that would have Australia's internationally famous female impersonator Dame Edna Everage (aka Barry Humphries) rolling around with laughter.
Well done Ireland.
Thomas L. Blair is a sociologist and political blogger on the Chronicleworld 'for creative renewal in Black Britain and Afro-Europe'. His work is honoured in the British Library's archive of "social, historic and culturally significant web-based material from the UK domain". He won top prize in the blogging competition on The-Latest.
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