Referendum on Gender Equality (THREADBANS IN OP)

I have never attempted to dictate anything to anyone. If you dont want to get married then fine, but dont expect to be recognised in the same way as others who have made that commitment.

You'll have to explain to me how the simple act of being married is giving up on happiness though chief? Cant let you away with that one I'm afraid.

And there is absolutely nothing wrong with this opinion, as long as you don't expect the same recognition as others who are planning on being together a lifetime. Sure not every marriage is going to go the distance, but by signing onto the legal agreement, you are stating that you at least plan to go the distance and accept the consequences (divorce) if you don't. There is nothing magical about it, its just that, like any legal contract, its a stronger commitment/agreement with it than without.

Would you buy a car from a dealer who offered a written guarantee or the one who wanted a much more casual "oh I'll look after you if something goes wrong" agreement? Which one would you feel is more committed to you as their customer?

Again, this isnt to say that no one should buy a car without a written guarantee or that its inherently "wrong" to do so, you just have to accept that its different than when you do.

OK, that's fine - just listen to the views of the electorate when they cast their judgement on it.

If you mean the referendum will fail I doubt it. A lot of the "families" I know had kids before they married. I also know plenty of couples with kids who aren't married. I doubt any of them will vote no.

No one cares- this is a chance to give the government and left wing establishment a drubbing. This is going to crash and burn- anyone who thinks otherwise doesn’t have their finger on the pulse of the public mood. They’re beyond furious

They aren’t that furious with the government and left wing parties, not according to the polls anyway.

Maybe, I think media & peoples grasp of technology has moved on again since the last referendum. Neale Richmond(FG) did it no favours by linking it with immigration.

https://www.tiktok.com/@irishfirst7/video/7311638050017201440

Online discourse is more than Twitter, Facebook, forums.

"WhatsApp" groups is where most people over 50 will be thrashing this out and many will use their vote as a stick to give this Government a beating.

At the risk of stating the obvious, he’s the current Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. In that position he has the authority to decide how public funds are allocated and spent.

There’s no suggestion in the article you linked to though that he is suggesting denying public funding to anyone who takes a different view to him on the referendum. His comments are just pretty stupid in their own right, in that he has been given a good reason why NGOs who see themselves as progressive do not support the amendment - in their view it doesn’t go far enough.

Government have made a complete balls of it, and getting heavy-handed about anyone who feels the wording is so inadequate that they can’t support the amendment, is unlikely to do a Government who wants the referendums to pass, any favours.

Nothing that O'Gorman says in your quote sugests that a person can have only one durable relationship. The man in your example may have two durable relationships — but, I think the point is, they are two different relationships, so the two women in the case are in different relationships, and are not in a relationship with one another.

And this is the "progressive" problem, everything is about international image; how we're perceived by fellow progressive nations.

All the women in my world, including me, will be voting yes.

Not sure how giving men, and unmarried families the same rights as women and married families is anything to do with feminism though?