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Latest update: 15/06/2011
- France - homosexuality
French parliament rejects same-sex marriage bill
France's lower house of parliament on Tuesday rejected a bill to legalise homosexual marriage. The opposition Socialists, who proposed the bill, said they would make legalising gay marriage a priority should they come to power in 2012.
AP – French lawmakers on Tuesday rejected a bill presented by the opposition Socialist Party seeking to legalize same-sex marriage, despite growing public support for gay rights.
The vote reflected opposition to gay marriage among President Nicolas Sarkozy’s governing conservatives and the strain of traditional values that runs through many parts of France - away from the gay-friendly bars and neighborhoods of Paris.
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The National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, turned down the measure by 293 votes to 222. Opposition was led by Sarkozy’s UMP, while Socialists and other leftists supported the bill, which said “marriage can be contracted by two people of different sexes or of the same sex.”
Supporters say France has fallen behind the curve on gay rights, as nearby countries like Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands have legalized gay marriage.
Earlier this year, France’s highest court ruled that laws banning gay marriage don’t violate the constitution. The esteemed Constitutional Court said any change would be up to parliament to decide.
In France, same-sex couples can form civil unions, but those do not confer inheritance rights or joint custody of goods, among other things.
France’s very vocal gay rights groups say their efforts are making progress, crediting improving media coverage and role models like Mayor Bertrand Delanoe of Paris, who came out publicly years ago.
A January poll published by Canal Plus TV found 58 percent of respondents in France believe gays should be able to marry, up from 45 percent five years ago. No margin of error was given.
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(15) Reactions
Allons enfants de la
Allons enfants de la Patrie
Le jour de gloire est arrivé
Contre nous de la tyrannie
|: L'étendard sanglant est levé :|
... Liberté, Liberté chérie!
Liberty, Fraternity, Equality for ALL... (but gays, non???)
Marriage
It is not possible for a man to MARRY another man, or for a woman to MARRY another woman. The only way that people can marry is for one of them to have a penis and one of them to have a vagina. Anything else is complete and total fantasy, and this debat is far beyond moronic.
I once thought France was
I once thought France was supposed to be a world leader when it comes to civil rights? Guess not...
French parliament rejects same-sex marriage bill
Rimbaud, Proust, Genet, Cocteau, Patrice Chereau, Christophe Honore, Dennis Cooper -- France practically INVENTED gayness.
Clearly Sarko isn't French.
rejected a bill to legalise homosexual marriage.
Now France is safe for future generation.
Viva France