Same-sex marriage bill advances in France

— The French Cabinet approved a draft bill legalizing same-sex marriage Wednesday after weeks of loud opposition, especially from religious figures and the political right.

During his successful campaign for president, Francois Hollande promised to legalize same-sex marriage. On Wednesday, he said the measure represented “progress for all of society.” Hollande and his Socialist Party have a majority in both houses of Parliament, and the bill is expected to pass sometime early next year.

The draft law redefines marriage to stipulate that it is “contracted between two persons of different sex or of the same sex,” and the words “father and “mother” in existing legislation are replaced by “parents.” The bill also would allow married gay couples to adopt children.

Christiane Taubira, the justice minister, told the conservative newspaper La Croix that “marriage for all,” as the government calls it, was a response to “a demand for equality.”

But the move to legalize same-sex marriage has been contentious, and the bill was subject to delays in a country where only married couples can adopt. Opinion polls indicate that a majority of the French support gay marriage, but only half approve allowing gays to adopt.

On Wednesday, Serge Dassault, an influential senator from the center-right Union for a Popular Movement, the party of former President Nicolas Sarkozy, said the bill represented “the end of the family, the end of children’s development, the end of education.”

He called it “an enormous danger to the nation.”

Dominique Bertinotti, the minister of family affairs, rejected that, saying, “On the contrary, it is a legal protection.”

The Cabinet decision came a day after Maine and Maryland became the first U.S. states to approve samesex marriage in a popular vote. Also Tuesday, Spain’s highest court upheld that country’s law allowing samesex marriage seven years after it was passed and after more than 21,000 same-sex couples had married.

If the bill passes, France will become the 12th country, including Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Spain and Sweden, to make its marriage laws “gender neutral.” In Germany, registered same-sex couples have essentially the same legal rights as married heterosexual couples, but same-sex marriage is not legal.

Last month, several hundred people demonstrated against the bill in several cities across France, including Bordeaux, Strasbourg and Lille, emphasizing their opposition to the adoption of children by gays.

The most virulent opposition has come from religious leaders, with Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Paris, calling it an act of “deception.” In a speech Saturday before 120 bishops in Lourdes, the cardinal said the law would establish “the marriage of a few imposed on everyone.”

Gilles Bernheim, the chief rabbi of France, sent a 25-page report to the government, calling “marriage for all” a “slogan,” rather than a societal project.

Muslim, Protestant and Orthodox Christian religious leaders also have opposed the bill.

Conservative and farright politicians have called for street protests and asked the government to delay the bill.

Marine Le Pen, who leads the far-right National Front, called for a referendum on the issue, and others said they wanted more debate.

One Paris official, Francois Lebel, mayor of the Eighth Arrondissement, warned that if the government broke the taboo of gay marriage, it would lead to the breaking of other taboos, like incest or polygamy, a hot topic among conservatives worried about the spread of conservative Islam in France.

In a compromise, the bill does not include state aid for artificial insemination and other forms of assisted procreation for gay couples.

Front Section, Pages 10 on 11/08/2012

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