‘No’ lobby want us to return to Church state

The no side in this referendum claim to have the best interest of children and families as their priority. We are, by now, well familiar with the catchphrases and posters used to promote this agenda.

I’m curious. Why then are the ISPCC, Barnados and most other organisations calling for a yes vote? Why is the opinion of the Chairman of the Adoption Society of Ireland and special rapporteur for children’s rights, Geoffrey Shannon, being dismissed by the no side?

Do we not remember, in the lead-up to the children’s rights referendum, how these same people were warning us that the state wanted to take babies from their mothers arms if the state didn’t think they were doing a good enough job of rearing their children?

Do we not remember the dishonest scaremongering?

Who do we believe? On the one hand we have every political party (including almost every independent), a former President, trade unions, the GRA, lawyers’ organisations to name but a few, calling on people to vote for marriage equality. On the other hand we have a disparate group who all claim to have the best interest of Irish society at heart.

I have struggled for a long time now to understand what motivates the no side. I am left with one conclusion. They believe that the good old days of the 1950s and 60s, when we all did what our priests told us and didn’t question anything, were good for society.

Ted O Connell

Wilton Road

Cork