Religious zealot still trying to prevent same sex marriage in Ireland

September 22, 2015 • 8:30 am

by Grania

 

In May this year a comfortable majority voted in Ireland’s  Marriage Referendum  to extend the right to marriage to same sex couples, however there are still some who oppose it bitterly. Well, mostly two people, Maurice J Lyons and Gerry Walshe.

As a result the entire process of writing this into legislation was temporarily in danger of being held up while a pair of zealots tried to reverse or nullify the outcome in court. Fortunately progress is being made on the Marriage Equality Bill.

The basis of the objection seems to be this:

…the State, in advocating a Yes vote, failed to protect the family, the “special position” of women in the home and the “God factor” in the Constitution.

I’m not sure what exactly the special position of women in the home is (in their heads, anyway), nor why they think that God needs protection; but suffice to say that this is not the most compelling of arguments. Then again, these are the guys who also argued – with straight faces – that the stamps sold by the Post Office had subliminal messaging influencing Irish voters.

They have already been rejected at the Supreme Court level, which ruled:

 neither had met the requirements for a Supreme Court appeal as neither had raised the necessary legal point of general public importance, raised no points “of substance” and the interests of justice did not require they be given leave to appeal.

However Walshe is now trying again where he will apparently seek permission to bring proceedings against the State through a judicial review.

They appear to be supported, at least in spirit, by Roger Eldridge of the Family Rights and Responsibilities Institute of Ireland and National Men’s Council of Ireland fame. Warning: reading the link should only be attempted after you have swallowed whatever beverage you may be sipping on. However, reading even a small part of the content will confirm that their motivations are both religious and painfully archaic, based on misinformation and myths.

If there is anything heartening about this pitiful story, it is that this is clearly a minority view. These people do not represent the average Irish citizen, not even the average Catholic Irish citizen.

 

 

 

21 thoughts on “Religious zealot still trying to prevent same sex marriage in Ireland”

  2. I don’t have an issue with someone trying to appeal the referendum result. There may have been something people missed etc. none of the arguments presented by either person are real arguments. One was cctv could invalidate the secrecy of the ballot, but only for the marriage referendum not presidential age.

    1. That should be cctv on the street outside of the school or hall where the ballot was taken could invalidate the ballot not in the polling booth itself

    2. Have they been smoking the good ganja? CCTV overlooking a poling station could make a case that one had attended the polling station, even that one had voted. But it would be spectacularly poor polling place layout that allowed external sight of someone in the polling booths.
      Oh, hang on – isn’t that claim evidence that the claimant has never voted? Ever. And thinks that all electoral officers are dribbling idiots.

  3. Here’s a question designed to stump proponents of so-called “traditional marriage:”

    Consider two hypothetical couples — Bob and Dave, and Bill and Diane.

    Bob and Dave are homeowners who have adopted 3 children. Bob is the breadwinner and works hard at a difficult but satisfying job; Dave is domestic and happily stays home, caring for the children and keeping a clean, well run household. They’re both Christian, attending and volunteering at their church, taking care to ensure their children know and love Jesus.

    Bill and Diane are a modern couple who both have well-paying and demanding careers. They live in a prestigious high rise apartment complex with their cat. Bill and Diane do not want children; they keep their finances separate; and where they do not split chores they hire out help. Neither of them believes in God and they hope that one day religion will die out.

    Okay, here’s the question: if you have to pick between these two couples, WHICH one has a better, more “real” and deserving marriage? If you could only allow one to marry, who would it be?

    If it’s Bob and Dave, then drop the whole same sex issue. Marriage is lifestyle for you.

    If it’s Bill and Diane, then stop kidding yourself by bringing up crap about kids or “protecting” the wife or the importance of church. You and we know it’s a smokescreen.

    Of course, those of us with no problem with single sex marriage don’t have to answer because we’re not insisting that only some marriages are the real thing. We don’t pick because we allow the couple to pick.

    1. I think the conservative fundie answer would be neither. Both are ruled out for the same reason: neither is Godly, and marriage is (for the fundie) first and foremost a holy, religious union. No blessing by the priest of my fundie sect = sham arrangement that’s recognized by the state, but No True Marriage.

      Hmmm….maybe to make the comparison trickier, you should say Bill and Diane were believers of [fundie’s sect] who got married in a church, by a priest of [fundie’s sect], etc.. but then changed their minds about religion and kids and everything.

      While you’re at it, you should really change that to Jack and Diane. 🙂

      2. Of course they want to say “neither ” — that’s why it’s a forced choice on which is better. The point of the thought experiment is to get them thinking, teasing apart elements so that the compartments aren’t so neat and clear. Not all fundamentalists are neat and clear, either. They do move, from time to time, like anybody else.

  4. Define:zealot

    a person who is fanatical and uncompromising in pursuit of their religious, political, or other ideals

    sounds like our boyos. (They are male, anatomically, aren’t they? I’m not familiar with the particular humanoids. Obviously, such vehement opposition raises the “methinks they protest too much” suspicion, that they’re still in their mental closet.

    historical
    a member of an ancient Jewish sect aiming at a world Jewish theocracy and resisting the Romans until AD 70

    Weren’t they the group who committed mass suicide at Masada? No, sorry, it was their associates, the Sicarii. Still, the zealots were obviously very successful at getting their Temple destroyed (again), their people massacred, and probably their men fed to the lions and their women sold to brothel keepers.
    “Zealot” is an insult, isn’t it?

  5. Incidentally, Grania, Greg and Matthew, is there a “submissions” email address that you-who-are-WEIT-but-are-not-jerry can use when ProfCC is travelling and has specifically asked his subscribers to be light on the submissions?

    1. Which link are you looking at? The one that references the most recent attempt – see “now trying ” – is dated yesterday, 21st September.

  7. Like the abortion issue, I doubt same-sex marriage will ever be settled as long as zealots are running about. They aren’t winning, and hopefully never will, but they’ll keep fighting their useless and bigoted hate-war. It’s the way of religion dontcha know.

    1. Eh, I think you’re being overly pessimistic. In Torquemada’s time, torture was the traditional technique for proselytizing; today, it’s televangelism. It’s no longer cool to burn witches, and anti-Semitism just isn’t kosher.

      The generation in school today is going to find anti-gay bigotry and opposition to same-sex marriage as bizarre as we find racism and anti-miscegnation laws. Yes, there’re atavistic idiots out there on race — not to mention structural socioeconomic ills still left over from slavery — but personal attitudes have moved so far from the “curse of Ham” era and the Biblical righteousness of slavery that that sort of thinking just doesn’t compute.

      b&

      1. I didn’t feel pessimistic while writing that blurb. I was just making the observation that zealots keep issues like abortion and LGBT rights open like a wound, for years, even when law has settled the issue. I wasn’t trying to compare modern zealots to people like Torquemada (at least western zealots that is). I agree that the zeitgeist is moving towards a more secular and inclusive world-view, but I also think there will be (for the foreseeable future) a minority of dipshits spouting their anti-abortion and/or anti-same sex marriage tripe.

  8. These guys are a clear example of religion making otherwise good people do bad things. They really think they’re doing the right thing for the safety of the imaginary souls of their fellow citizens and getting themselves some Brownie points with their imaginary friend in the process.

    1. Every loony thinks they’re doing the right thing. Even, probably (at the risk of Godwinning), Adolf. Or Pol Pot.

      IMO sincerity is never an excuse.

      cr

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