Creating Confetti with Homophobic SSM Leaflets
A stationery shop on Dublin’s Camden Street has gotten involved in the debate on same-sex marriage in the run up to the May’s referenda.
A number of homophobic leaflets have been circulated around Dublin by a small section of the campaign against same-sex marriage, so Daintree Paper have come up with a new product in reaction to these dishonest leaflets: ‘A Shred of Decency’, which is heart-shaped confetti made from “100% recycled lies”. The small stationery shop has been collecting negative, offensive and dishonest leaflets and “recycling it into something positive”.
This latest campaign supporting a Yes vote in next month’s Marriage Equality Referendum appears to be in response to a number of particularly homophobic leaflets being distributed throughout Dublin by the Alliance for the Defence of the Family and Marriage (ADFAM). The organisation has been handing out a number of leaflets including one entitled ‘Why Vote Against Same-Sex “Marriage”?’, which claims that homosexuals have a lower life expectancy than heterosexuals, because they are more prone to illnesses such as cancer, HIV, alcoholism and depression.
[pullquote] “The handout describes same-sex marriage as ‘a confidence trick’. [/pullquote]
The leaflet states: “They [homosexuals] still will contract cancers earlier in life. The average life expectancy of those in same-sex relationships is 60 years. More than average, they are subject to HIV, alcoholism, use of illegal drugs, depression, and suicide.” The handout describes same-sex marriage as “a confidence trick” and also makes the extremely offensive claim that “sexual abuse is perpetrated disproportionately by the same-sex-attracted”. The leaflet then goes on to say that Christians will be persecuted if May’s Marriage Equality Referendum is passed.
Another leaflet produced by the same organisation reiterates these views. While a third handout calls same-sex marriage “a short and a sordid affair”. It also repeats the same claims as above including more detail on ADFAM’s assertion that homosexuals are more likely to get cancer: “Lesbians are at a very high risk of breast cancer, and a higher than average risk of cervical cancers.”
[pullquote] “None of these leaflets attribute a source of research for these statements… [/pullquote]
This third leaflet is particularly offensive as it says; “Children raised by such couples [same-sex couples] are 8 times more likely to be harmed, and 50 times more likely to die of injuries inflicted upon them.” Although this is unrelated to the referendum on same-sex marriage, many people will undoubtedly find this piece of the literature particularly distasteful.
None of these leaflets attribute a source of research for these statements. However, ADFAM has defended the claims made in its literature, which have been distributed in the run up to the same-sex marriage referendum. Speaking to the Irish Times, secretary of the organisation Séamas de Barra said the claims are backed up by research undertaken by Dutch psychologist Dr Gerard van den Aardweg and research in Denmark where civil partnerships were legalised in 1989.
It is unclear who funds ADFAM or where it is based, but it describes itself as an initiative to promote and defend the traditional family. ADFAM’s secretary Séamas de Barra has appeared on a TG4 debate on the subject of the same-sex marriage referendum. He spoke on behalf of a No vote, while Irish Time‘s journalist Una Mullally promoted a Yes vote.
‘A Shred of Decency’ confetti is available from the Daintree Paper shop on Camden Street, or online. Each packet costs €5 and all profits will be given to Yes Equality to promote a Yes vote in next month’s same-sex marriage referendum. Since the launch of this new product three days ago, more than 100 packets of confetti have already been sold.
Photos: ‘A Shred of Decency’ on Twitter
