Campaigners for No vote 'being racially abused in the street'
Campaigners for a No vote in Marriage Equality Referendum are being racially abused in the street, Mothers and Fathers Matter has claimed today.
The group is today launching a campaign video called “Make Up Your Own Mind”.
The video urges voters to "resist attempts at emotional blackmail".
It also criticises "the bullying and hysteria on social media" and "the mobs on Twitter".
In the two-minute animated clip, the narrator states: "I don't like the idea of children being made to order, or children being deliberately deprived of a mum or dad."
Announcing the video, Mothers and Fathers matter said: "Time and time again, voters tell us that while they are voting No on May 22, they’re frightened to speak out about their concerns.
"The fact is, and polls confirm this, that many people who tell pollsters they are voting Yes have real and serious concerns about the affects this proposal will have on children, the right to conscientious objection, and a host of other issues.
"The entire purpose of the Yes campaign is to make sure that people feel scared to think about these concerns, and express them. The Yes campaign, in short, want people to think it is homophobic to vote No – it is not.
"The fact is that you can absolutely respect the rights of gay men and women to live as equal members of this society while recognising the special role of marriage and its importance to children.
"You can respect and cherish families of all types while believing that the state should accord special recognition to motherhood and fatherhood, and the importance of the union of a man and a woman in bringing up children.
"These are normal, healthy, decent human values. We share them in the NO campaign. We want people to be able to vote No without fear.
"The tone of this campaign so far has been vicious – we have seen No campaigners racially abused in the street, organised gangs of thugs taking down posters, and a Taoiseach who won’t even debate the issue.
"Today, we’re asking voters to tune all that information out, and to make up their own minds."
