YES: Minister Sean Sherlock
“I AM campaigning for a Yes vote.
I am campaigning for a Yes vote, not on mere points of law or on some Jesuitical interpretation of Article 41 of the Constitution. I am campaigning for a Yes vote because I believe that gay people, who are our friends and neighbours, should have the same rights as I do. It is a personal choice.
I do not believe that heterosexual parents have a monopoly on love for a child over and above gay parents.
The impartiality of the Referendum Commission is without question and its material can be scrutinised with absolute confidence. It provides all of the answers and dispels any doubt on questions relating to Article 41, particularly in relation to answering questions on the difference between civil partnership and marriage.
Marriage will confer rights for married gay people that are not inherent in civil partnership. I have heard people ask, ‘Sure, isn’t civil partnership enough for them?’
I always answer, ‘gay people are equal citizens in every other aspect of Irish law so why are they not equal on the matter of marriage? I believe that all citizens, gay or straight should be equal on all aspects of the constitution including on article 41.’
The courts have never established rights to surrogacy for heterosexual couples. Frankly, it is unregulated. That being the case, there are no rights for gay couples and this referendum does not confer those rights. It’s not about surrogacy”.