A poll conducted by the Ulster Herald revealed an emphatic endorsement for the introduction of same sex marriage in Northern Ireland.
A total of 461 people responded to the 24-hour online poll, with 354 or 84.1 percent of readers saying yes to the question, “Should Northern Ireland introduce marriage for same sex couples?” Just 67 people or 15.9 percent said no.
Momentum behind the campaign to introduce legislation to allow gay couples in the North to marry has intensified following the result of the marriage referendum in the south. Four attempts to introduce legislation in the Assembly have failed to date. But calls have now intensified for Northern Ireland to follow the south and the rest of the U.K. in adopting gay marriage.
Omagh Sinn Fein Councilor Sorcha McAnespy said the result of the poll reflected the sentiment of many local people.
“The overwhelming majority of people I have spoken to about marriage equality have been embarrassed about the way it has been rejected at Stormont. It means as a people, we look very backward in our thinking, and that’s definitely not the experience of people I have met,” she said.
“At the end of the day, equality hurts no one. It doesn’t change the status of heterosexual marriage.”
On the back of the referendum, Amnesty International have announced a march for civil marriage equality in Belfast on June 13.
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