Ireland votes Yes on Gay Marriage – in a landslide

(Bloomberg) — Irish voters backed a proposal to allow gay marriage by almost a 2-to-1 margin, making the nation the first in the world to back wedlock for same-sex couples in a referendum.

Ireland voted 62.1 percent in favor of the measure, government officials said Saturday. The final tally was 1.2 million for the measure and about 700,000 opposing it, they said.

"It's a great day for Ireland," said Health Minister Leo Varadkar, who in January came out as the nation's first openly gay Cabinet member. "It's something really special."

Anti-gay marriage campaigners conceded defeat, saying the backing of all political parties for a yes vote ensured the proposal would pass.

The "yes" campaign unified diverse strands of Irish society just 20 years since Ireland decriminalized gay sex, from Prime Minister Enda Kenny to U2 singer Bono and the local chief executive of Twitter Inc. The hashtag #hometovote trended on Twitter worldwide yesterday as emigrants flooded back to Ireland to take part in the ballot.

Ireland "is an example for the rest of the world," said Frank La Rue, director of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Europe in Florence, Italy. "Even for non-believers, the argument is still the same. Is there any difference in dignity and rights between people?"

The last few years have seen gay rights blossom in countries where it would have been unthinkable decades ago. More U.S. states allow same-sex marriage than ban it while Ireland will follow traditionally more conservative countries like Spain in changing the law.