Gay senator leads Irish president race
A poll has found that openly gay Irish Senator David Norris leads the pack seeking to be the nation's next president.
The Red C poll conducted in early January found that Norris, 66, is favored by 27 percent of voters, followed by Member of the European Parliament Mairead McGuinness at 13 percent, former Prime Minister Bertie Ahern at 12 percent, Dáil member Michael D. Higgins at 11 percent, and MEP Brian Crowley and charity executive Fergus Finlay at 10 percent.
The poll found that 13 percent of respondents support none of the candidates and 5 percent do not plan to vote.
In a famous 1988 gay rights case, Norris took the Irish government before the European Court of Human Rights and forced the nation to decriminalize sex between men.
