The referendums were touted as the next step for social change.
Irish Votes on Women, Family Defeated in Surprise Blow to Government.
Irish referendums held to change outdated language on women and the family in the constitution were defeated Saturday in a surprise setback for the government, which admitted that it had failed to convince citizens the vote was necessary for social progress.
“It was our responsibility to convince the majority of people to vote yes,” Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told reporters in Dublin as it became clear the votes would fail. “I think we struggled to convince people of the necessity or need for the referendums at all, let alone detail on the wording.”
That’s something we’re going to have to reflect on in the weeks ahead,” he added.
The votes centered around changing two parts of the charter, written in 1937 under the influence of the Catholic church. The first referendum proposed that the definition of “family” should be widened beyond marriage to include other “durable” relationships like cohabitation, while the second sought to remove language referring to womens’ care duties in the home and replace it with gender-neutral wording.
A majority of people, 68%, opted against broadening the definition of family. The second vote to recognize the role of all kinds of caregivers in the home, meanwhile, fell as 74% of citizens chose “no,” according to the returning officer’s website, due to confusion over the vague outcomes it would produce.
Catholic Critique 