Dear Editor, The Government has given us the wording for the same-sex marriage referendum. To my mind this wording is very bland. Subliminally it suggests that the electorate should vote for equality among all Irish people regardless of sexual orientation.
This is not a simple matter. The insights of sociology and history cannot be discounted. The hard facts of sociology in Ireland are that the vast majority of Irish people are in a marriage of a man and woman, and the vast majority of children have a mammy and a daddy. It’s proved in psychological research that father and mother have a complementary role. Psychiatrist Antony Storr makes a point that for the first 18 months the infant identifies more with the mother than the father. Later on the child turns to the mother for forgiveness and warmth. The same-sex marriage group are greatly in a minority. The media have distorted the argument. They never mention the sociological fact Irish society is a coming together of a man and woman.
Buoyed up by my interest in the Scottish referendum and a look in on the sociological profile, I predicted that it would fail. Likewise, I predict that the coming referendum in Ireland will fail.
Yours etc.,
Padraic Beirne,
Harolds Cross, Dublin 6.