Ireland Passes Marriage Equality Amendment

Janette Loughlin

The Gist:

The people of Ireland voted on May 22 to legalize gay marriage across the country in a historic referendum to amend the constitution.

Same-sex marriage will now have the same status as a marriage between a man and a woman under the Irish constitution.

Ireland is the first country to have legalized gay marriage through a public referendum.

A complete sweep… almost.

All but one of Ireland’s 43 constituencies voted in favor of the constitutional reform.

The only constituency to reject the referendum was Roscommon-South Leitrim, a largely rural area.

“Yes” votes were the largest in the cities of Cork and Dublin. Almost 75 percent of voters in Dublin South East voted in favor — the largest portion of “yes” votes in a single constituency.

Read more on the vote, its repercussions, and the backdrop of Irish Catholicism in the full brief at Gistory.co.

Full brief contributed by Janette Loughlin.