These leaflets handed out against same-sex marriage will beggar belief

This left us speechless.

We're relaxed sorts in the JOE office and it takes a lot to make us angry, but these leaflets handed out today in Dublin may just have done the job.

Produced by the Alliance for the Defence of the Family and Marriage (ADFAM), they claim that life expectancy for people in same-sex relationships is diminished, while children who are adopted by gay couples are subjected to "eight times more harm" than children adopted by straight couples.

Perhaps worst of all is the claim that people in same-sex marriages will "contract cancers earlier in life."

Here is the full text of the leaflets. If you're offended by this, rest assured, so were we.

1) Only a man and a woman can produce children. Same-sex "marriage" is a confidence trick. It is likely that only 0.3% of the population will avail of it, if legislated for. It is very short-lived, and promiscuous. Frequently same-sex pairs don't even live together. Only 1/10 of the countries of the world allow it.

2) If you vote for same-sex "marriage," you are doing homosexual persons no favours. They will contract cancers earlier in life. The average life expectancy of those in same-sex relationships is 60 years. Statistically they are, more than average, subject to alcoholism, illegal drug abuse, depression, and suicide.

3) Only a minority will want to adopt children anyway, but children who are adopted other than by man + woman couples are subject to 8 times more harm, and are 50 times more likely to die of injuries inflicted on them. A child is best raised by his/her own mother and father.

4) Voting for same-sex "marriage" is like voting for the Islamist law known as "sharia law." It is giving in to a very small minority. In this case the very small minority will dictate what marriage means. Persecution of Christians surely will follow, and it will become a crime to teach and preach Christian morality. This has already happened elsewhere.

5) In the 2003 Vatican document Considerations Regarding Proposals we are reminded that it is gravely immoral to vote for same-sex "marriage."

Issued by the Alliance for the Defence of the Family and Marriage (ADFAM)

We have no more words. Shocking, shocking stuff.

Grace O'Reilly from our sister site Her.ie brought this to our attention.

I ripped up the leaflet I was handed (in the RDS). @HelenORahilly @ianmccourt Here is it in full: pic.twitter.com/LVJqksxKpF — Grace O' Reilly (@graceyosmiley) February 21, 2015