Discuss The Arguments In Favour Of The Fourth Amendment

As we know there were many debates regarding the thirty fourth amendment of the constitution, which was debated in the Dail during the 10th – 11th March this year. Many deputies voiced their opinions and spoke in favour of the bill. Independent TD Mattie McGrath was the only speaker who opposed it, standing by his decision which he indicated previously/ months before hand. He held numerous meetings with advocacy groups opposed to both the bill and the referendum. Mr McGrath explained to the Irish Times back in February that he had “Serious concerns” regarding Children and Family Relationships Bill. His view surrounding the referendum was obviously going to be criticised and for his decision to vote no which he subsequently suffered a barrage of abuse. The amendment was then debated in the Seanad on the 25th and 27th March before finally being passed by 29 votes to three after votes were held on many proposed amendments.
Numerous organisations, political parties and …show more content…
Drastic decisions were made to get people on side and one such religious group who were campaigning for a no vote decided to distribute more than 20,000 pamphlets to 100 churches throughout Ireland. It was confirmed that this religious group had in fact sought advice from one catholic archbishop whilst distributing more pamphlets to other bishops. With this came a constant backlash and anyone or group who campaigned for the no vote faced abuse, Paddy Monaghan, a campaigner of the Evangical Cross Denominational group described how he received abusive emails after writing an opinion piece in The Irish Times in April of this year.
Leaders of the Presbyterian Church issued a statement in April 2015 commending a no vote, subsequently stating that the change proposed in the same – sex marriage referendum will deny the natural responsibilities of a mother and father in nurturing