Irish film actor Colin Farrell has
written a personal appeal to the Irish people asking them to approve
an upcoming ballot question which seeks to make Ireland the 18th
nation with marriage equality.
In a heartfelt op-ed published in The
Sunday World, Farrell spoke of the bullying his brother faced
growing up and the distance he had to travel to marry his husband.
“I don't know where those bullies are
now, the ones who beat him regularly. Maybe some of them have found
peace and would rather forget their own part of a painful past.
Maybe they're sitting on bar stools and talking about 'birds and
faggots' and why one's the cure and the other the disease.”
“But I do know where my brother is.
He's at home in Dublin living in peace and love with his husband of
some years, Steven. They are about the healthiest and happiest
couple I know. They had to travel a little farther than down the
aisle to make their vows, though, to Canada, where their marriage was
celebrated.”
“That's why this is personal to me.
The fact that my brother had to leave Ireland to have his dream of
being married become real is insane. INSANE.”
Farrell added the world will be
watching: “We will lead by example. Let's lead toward light.”
Ireland will vote on the issue sometime
in the first half of next year.
Currently, gay couples can exchange
vows in 16 countries. A marriage law takes effect in Luxembourg on
January 1.