With
the vote almost upon us, there isn't a great deal that we in Croppy
Towers can really add to the acres of print that have already covered
the subject. Others, with greater eloquence and more at stake, have
made the arguments under both constitutional and compassionate
headings and they have been well made.
In
a modern progressive society, no rights available to the majority of
citizens should be arbitrarily withheld from a section of society on
the basis of race, gender or sexual orientation. A re-framing of the definition of marriage to reflect evolving family structures is just that, a reflection of an emerging reality. Arguably, the rights of children are further protected by this proposed amendment rather than being put at risk. That to me (in my
rather naïve and perhaps overly formalistic way) would seem to be
the end of the argument; or at least that would conclude the part of
the debate that relies on constitutional argument and appeals to
higher principles of jurisprudence. For the most part, what is left
is conjecture, emotionalism, misunderstanding, questionable
scholarship and in some instances, downright superstition.
It's
not that I don't understand the concerns of the 'No Camp', it's just
that this remains fundamentally a rights issue to me and however much
people are concerned, their first duty should be to upholding the
spirit of the constitution by amending it to better reflect the kind
of equality that should be the touchstone of a true republic. That really is what we should be doing if we are actually 'thinking of the children'.
In
the final analysis however, what really breaks my heart is that
across Ireland, there will be people who vote against this amendment; people with brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, scattered
across the globe.
And in their hearts, they'll think they're doing the
right thing by voting against this unsettling challenge to their
well-worn world views and they will put to the back of their minds
those men and women who left Ireland not just to find expression
beyond the stultifying confines of a close-minded society but also
and let's not forget this, to hide their 'shame' and to spare the
shame of their families.
That would be a nice cycle to break.
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