Yes or No Vote!

With a looing referendum on gay marriage in Ireland, and me as of yet undecided, I do what I do best - write about it - enjoy.

Gaining independence left us with an insular society,

A given though, that we made no bones about it,

We had that scamp on our screens Hilton Edwards,

Indeed how could we get out from underneath the pit.

The seventies dawned with us still in law's grip,

Ancient men with dust for morals lay in power,

Young David Norris refusing to kneel and pout,

A ruling against the mother land shook the dower.

Ah the Celtic tiger in all her glory stuffed our pockets,

Now socially acceptable when the Euro exchanges hands,

Behold the inner working of Europe upon us few,

The old adage holding true, money talks in buying lands.

Hannigan, Lyons and Zappone the scattered pioneers,

Abated breath looms towards our shores once anew,

To the polls they cry for a yes or not vote tiny liberty,

Gay marriage the bulls eye let's take all the crew!

Author's Note

Just a turmoil of mine, I'll decide on the day of the vote. For now enjoy.

Reviews

[dan]

Thomas, not being familiar with all of the names this piece invokes finds me on the outside looking in, but writing on such a sensitive topic is thoughtful and very compelling. A lot of states in the US are still wrestling with the issue, so it is still a very topical subject and I applaud your open-minded thinking.
Very well done, sir! take care...dan

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

Thank you Dan, have a great day.

[Chris]

The legal issues of spousal responsibilities and abilities. A partner IS a next of kin - personally, medically, and legally until a law decided by majority vote strips away their right to have a voice or legacy.

Be told you can't be beside your partner of ten, twenty, or more years ...because you AREN'T family. Lose the only home you and your partner shared for YEARS because your commitment to each the other isn't recognized in a court. Work benefits denied, emergency benefits questioned, credit and purchasing power restricted ...in some countries the phobia goes so deep as to threaten as well as the taking of their lives. Religious morality is NOT enlightening nor tolerant - ever ...but peoples' can be when backed by the structure and strictures of followed and equally-enforced Law. I came back Thomas - seems it ISN'T just about you now - doesn't it.

You take care my friend.
Chris

[Lyn Anderson]

Interesting to look back on this so long after the fact. I have always scoffed at people who believe that giving people the right to be treated the same as everyone else somehow undermines their own foundations.

[Cascara (aka Sprint Goe..]

"we made no bones about it"

This is a unique phrase- I've never heard it before. It's a really eloquent :)

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

I can't take the credit, but thank you.

[Dayran]

I'm looking at same sex relations ... and then marriage ... and I figure ... it works best married to the woman ... and meeting the friend under the moon ... in the mind of self vanity ... i.e. ... if the wife says its okay.

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

Thank you.

[KAOlmsted]

Thomas. Such an interesting paradigm, taking neither side, as it were, until...the day of the vote? By the seat of your pants?? (no pun intended) This is something that borders on the absurd, only because it's a debate at all. No heavy thinking necessary. No hand-wringing. No sleepless nights. Yay all the way. Yes. If the stodgy old whatsits think men and women are going to stop having babies because two men, or two women, want to get married (you know, the original reason for marriage, good ole procreation) then *they* should look at all the children in quote-unquote orphanages and foster homes who need good homes a same-sex couple can, and would provide. Nice write, though...I love anything that gets me riled up ;-)

-kimmer

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

Indeed as do I! Thank you.

[KAOlmsted]

My pleasure, pet...my absolute pleasure.

[Kasey Miriam]

Voting to give a group of people rights hardly seems right but it better than protests and violence. Very well penned

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

Agreed, thank you.

[Poetic Beauty]

Well penned and thought out.

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

Thank you.

[Pryde Foltz]

We have had same sex marriage in Canada and have had it for a while. In builds empathy and understanding and fosters the belief that though we may all be different at some point we are all the same.

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

Thank you.

[Chris]

It's a trembling world we live in when love must be decided by an uncommon "vote" but it IS the only one we have.

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

Agreed thank you.