Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland

Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland

22 May 2015 (2015-05-22)
To permit marriage to be contracted by two persons without distinction as to their sex
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 1,201,607 62.07% No 734,300 37.93% Valid votes 1,935,907 99.29% Invalid or blank votes 13,818 0.71% Total votes 1,949,725 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 3,221,681 60.52%
How the electorate voted, by constituency. Proportion of the valid poll voting yes:   72.5%–75%   70%–72.49%   67.5%–69.99%   65%–67.49%   62.5%–64.99%   60%–62.49%   57.5%–59.99%   55%–57.49%   52.5%–54.99%   50%–52.49%   48.58%
Source: Iris Oifigiúil[1]

The Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Act 2015 (previously bill no. 5 of 2015) amended the Constitution of Ireland to permit marriage to be contracted by two persons without distinction as to their sex.^[2] Prior to the enactment, the Constitution was assumed to contain an implicit prohibition on same-sex marriage in the Republic of Ireland.^[3] It was approved at a referendum on 22 May 2015 by 62% of voters on a turnout of 61%.^[1][4] This was the first time that a state legalised same-sex marriage through a popular vote.^[5][6] Two legal challenges regarding the conduct of the referendum were dismissed on 30 July by the Court of Appeal,^[7] and the bill was signed into law by the President of Ireland on 29 August.^[8] An amendment to the Marriage Act 2015 provided for marriages permitted by the new constitutional status. The act came into force on 16 November 2015; the first same-sex marriage ceremony was held on 17 November 2015.^[9]