Dublin footballer Rory O'Carroll has written a moving piece in The Irish Times today in which he outlines why he is supporting a Yes vote in the Marriage referendum. The Kilmacud Crokes man opens the article with some powerful quotes from a gay friend that starkly illustrate the importance of Friday's vote. His friend speaks how lonely and scary life is in the closet and of how meaningful a Yes vote would be in daily life.
I will be voting Yes on May 22nd for him and for others in his position. I will vote for the children and families of same-sex couples, for the gay and lesbian children of Ireland and for the children of future generations. I want to be part of an accepting society that embraces change for the better. I will vote to end the discrimination against gay and lesbian couples and am asking all my friends and family to do the same.
O'Carroll draws from his experience as a social worker to illustrate the effect stigma can have on gay people and he takes a well directed shot at the misdirection that has been heavily pushed by those advocating a No vote:
We now know that surrogacy and adoption are not, and never were, relevant to this referendum.
Rory O'Carroll isn't the first member of Jim Gavin's panel to make a public stance in the debate, his colleague in the back line Ger Brennan generated a twitter storm when he came out against Marriage equality in an article in The Irish Independent. This was heightened following a "car crash" interview on Morning Ireland.
