The reason for why #VoteYes is trending on Twitter worldwide is simple. Ireland has a referendum vote on gay marriage today and most are hoping that it passes.
If Ireland ends up passing gay marriage by a popular vote, it would become the first country to do so. That’s an astonishing turn around, considering that it was only in 1993 that homosexuality was finally decriminalized.
While the online support for #VoteYes may have some outside Ireland thinking that this will easily pass, The Telegraph notes that there are still some opponents to the measure, even in Dublin.
“This whole referendum thing stinks from hell,” Mary Delaney, a retired secretary who wore a “Vote No To Protect Marriage” sticker, told the Telegraph. “This thing is messing up the whole of Creation, and the culture of sex is so strong in our society today that it's impossible to protest.”
According to the New York Times, same-sex marriage has been legalized in over a dozen European countries - including the U.K., Belgium, France, Sweden and The Netherlands - but not by popular vote like Ireland is trying.
The Telegraph notes that the Yes votes are expected to win by 60-75 percent.