Last updated on March 16th, 2024 at 04:04 pm
In a significant pushback against proposed constitutional changes, a majority of Irish voters have opposed the government’s bid to redefine the terms “marriage” and “woman” in a double referendum. As reported by CatholicVote, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar’s two propositions, the Family Amendment and the Care Amendment, met with substantial opposition. These amendments sought to rephrase Article 41 of the Irish constitution.
Varadkar attempted to expand the concept of family beyond being founded on marriage to include “other durable relationships.” Concurrently, the Care Amendment aimed to eliminate all references to motherhood in an effort to “balance gender roles.” Despite the government’s campaign suggesting that the current constitution promotes gender stereotypes, voters dismissed these ideas.
According to Reuters, the proposed broader definition of family was rejected by a 67.7% majority, whereas the proposed change to replace womanhood language was rebuffed by almost 74% of voters. Varadkar acknowledged his government’s significant misstep in bringing forward these proposals.
Describing the result as a “political earthquake,” Independent pro-life parliamentarian Carol Nolan suggested the referendum results underscored a disconnect between the Irish government and its citizens. She criticized “unelected NGOs” for championing the proposed changes, indicating that people were tired of their influence on the political system.