To: Members of the Oireachtas
Citizens to Separate Church and State (CSCS) wrote to our government (cabinet) on 24 February pleading with it to drop the proposed 35th Amendment to our constitution until the religious oath required by Article 12.8 for installation of the President was amended or dropped.
This letter is here: http://www.cscs.ie/?p=5
At that stage the Bill to move the 35th Amendment (age for president) had not been introduced into the Oireachtas.
The government ignored our pleading and the Bill was subsequently moved and passed.
CSCS has issued a short (7 min) video documentary setting out why it is calling for a ‘No’ vote in the Presidential age referendum.
It is CSCS’s view that the government’s 35th amendment is ill-judged and ill–timed because it has failed to deal first with the issue regarding the religious oath that has to be sworn by the president-elect (Article 12.8).
We would ask you to watch it on:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aOI2s_DGuE
Or
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/126464204
It raises an important human right abnegation in relation to Irish citizens.
CSCS is struck by the fact that posters produced by the proponents calling for a ‘Yes’ vote in the 34th Amendment (marriage equality) campaign emphasise the ‘Equality’ aspects of this worthy cause but there has been a marked ‘blindness to equality’ in relation to the import of Art. 12.8 in its connection to the 35th amendment proposal.
We are urging citizens genuinely commited to equality for all to vote No and we ask you to consider the contradiction between the two referendums
Dick Spicer & Mike McKillen