Local Minister Heather Humphreys is encouraging members of the public to vote 'Yes' in the upcoming referendum which will be held on March 8th. Minister Humphreys has also been appointed to lead the Fine Gael referendum campaign. Speaking on this morning's Joe Finnegan Show, the Cavan-Monaghan Fine Gael representative said that her party is asking members of the pubic to amend the constitution and to recognise that families are not just based on marriage. According to Minister Humphreys, this referendum is about taking into account the fact that society has changed and that the definition of a family needs to be updated.
She added that "marriage" will continue to have "special status" within the constitution - and that people should be reassured of that. "Within the constitution we only define a family as a married couple, so we're asking the public to amend the constitution to recognise that families are not just based on marriage," explained Minister Humphreys. "We know that families come in many different forms today whether it's lone parents, couples who are not married or it could be grandparents who have guardianship of their grandchildren. So this referendum is about taking into account the fact that society has changed and the definition of a family needs to be updated."
