Saturday, February 02, 2013

NOM losing marriage battle in France

Remember that so-called rebellion against marriage equality which took place in France? That's the large march against marriage equality held in Paris and heavily promoted by the National Organization for Marriage a few weeks ago. It's also the same march whose number of participants fluctuate from from 300,000 to 500,000 to a 1 million, depending on who was telling the story that is.

Well the French government has just sent its answer to that march:

The French National Assembly has approved the most important article of a bill to legalise same-sex marriage.

Deputies voted 249-97 in favour of redefining marriage as being an agreement between two people - not just between a man and a woman.

President Francois Hollande's Socialists and their left-wing supporters backed it, opposed by many opposition UMP and centrist MPs.

The proposals have generated protests and counter-protests for months.

Opinion polls suggest that around 55-60% of French people support gay marriage, though only about 50% approve of gay adoption.

Correspondents say the ease with which the article passed suggests the bill as a whole will pass.
Debates are expected to go on for more than a week, as MPs discuss hundreds of amendments, most of them filed by the centre-right opposition.

On the way they are expected to approve the other key measure in the bill, which would allow gay couples to adopt children.