French president signs gay marriage bill
Source: AFP |
May 19, 2013, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
France yesterday became the 14th country to legalize same-sex marriage after President Francois Hollande signed the measure into law, following months of bitter political debate.
Hollande acted a day after the Constitutional Council threw out a legal challenge by the right-wing opposition, which had been the last obstacle to passing the bill into law. The legislation also legalizes gay adoption.
But while gay rights groups hailed the move, opponents of the measures have vowed to fight on.
Hollande made "marriage for all" a central plank of his presidential election campaign last year.
On Friday, he tried to turn the page on months of bitter opposition to the measures, arguing it was "time to respect the law and the Republic."
And he warned that he would tolerate no resistance.
"I will ensure that the law applies across the whole territory, in full, and I will not accept any disruption of these marriages," said the president.
The Socialist mayor of the southern French city of Montpellier will officiate the municipality's first gay marriage on May 29, her office said yesterday, in what is expected to be the country's first.
Marriages in France must be civil ceremonies performed in town halls, most of which take several weeks to process applications. Couples can then hold a religious ceremony.
The issue of gay marriage and adoption has provoked months of acrimonious debate and hundreds of protests that have occasionally spilled over into violence.
Although the Constitutional Council approved the bill on Friday, the International Day Against Homophobia, its opponents have vowed to fight on.
Protest rally
They have called a major protest rally scheduled for May 26 in Paris - and previous protests have drawn hundreds of thousands of people.
In April, the main right-wing opposition UMP party of former president Nicolas Sarkozy challenged the measures on constitutional grounds after deputies passed the bill in parliament.
But Friday's statement by the Constitutional Council said same-sex marriage "did not run contrary to any constitutional principles," and that it did not infringe on "basic rights or liberties or national sovereignty."
Reacting to the ruling Friday, UMP party chief Jean-Francois Cope told TF1 television: "It is a decision that I regret, but that I respect."
But late on Friday, between 200 and 300 protesters gathered in central Paris to denounce the ruling backing the bill and calling on Hollande to resign.
One police officer was injured after flammable liquid was thrown in his face.
Earlier, a group of bare-chested men wearing white masks staged their own protest against gay marriage on one of the bridges over the Seine.
Gay rights groups hailed the decision as a watershed.
"Now it's celebration time," said spokesman Nicolas Gougain of the LGBT association representing the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.
But gay rights watchdog SOS Homophobie added: "Our country has taken a great step forward today although it's regrettable that it was taken in a climate of bad faith and homophobic violence."
Gay marriage across the world
Nations with similar laws:
Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina, Denmark, Uruguay, New Zealand
Partial rules:
Gay couples can marry in nine US states, as well as in the capital Washington, while parts of Mexico and Brazil also allow same-sex marriage.
Expected soon:
Same-sex couples in Britain have had the right to live in civil partnerships since 2005 but cannot marry. Lawmakers voted in February in favor of gay marriage, despite opposition from some of Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party.
Civil unions:
Some countries have adopted laws that recognise civil partnerships. Countries to have recognized civil unions without yet accepting gay marriage include Germany, Finland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Ireland and Colombia.
Hollande acted a day after the Constitutional Council threw out a legal challenge by the right-wing opposition, which had been the last obstacle to passing the bill into law. The legislation also legalizes gay adoption.
But while gay rights groups hailed the move, opponents of the measures have vowed to fight on.
Hollande made "marriage for all" a central plank of his presidential election campaign last year.
On Friday, he tried to turn the page on months of bitter opposition to the measures, arguing it was "time to respect the law and the Republic."
And he warned that he would tolerate no resistance.
"I will ensure that the law applies across the whole territory, in full, and I will not accept any disruption of these marriages," said the president.
The Socialist mayor of the southern French city of Montpellier will officiate the municipality's first gay marriage on May 29, her office said yesterday, in what is expected to be the country's first.
Marriages in France must be civil ceremonies performed in town halls, most of which take several weeks to process applications. Couples can then hold a religious ceremony.
The issue of gay marriage and adoption has provoked months of acrimonious debate and hundreds of protests that have occasionally spilled over into violence.
Although the Constitutional Council approved the bill on Friday, the International Day Against Homophobia, its opponents have vowed to fight on.
Protest rally
They have called a major protest rally scheduled for May 26 in Paris - and previous protests have drawn hundreds of thousands of people.
In April, the main right-wing opposition UMP party of former president Nicolas Sarkozy challenged the measures on constitutional grounds after deputies passed the bill in parliament.
But Friday's statement by the Constitutional Council said same-sex marriage "did not run contrary to any constitutional principles," and that it did not infringe on "basic rights or liberties or national sovereignty."
Reacting to the ruling Friday, UMP party chief Jean-Francois Cope told TF1 television: "It is a decision that I regret, but that I respect."
But late on Friday, between 200 and 300 protesters gathered in central Paris to denounce the ruling backing the bill and calling on Hollande to resign.
One police officer was injured after flammable liquid was thrown in his face.
Earlier, a group of bare-chested men wearing white masks staged their own protest against gay marriage on one of the bridges over the Seine.
Gay rights groups hailed the decision as a watershed.
"Now it's celebration time," said spokesman Nicolas Gougain of the LGBT association representing the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.
But gay rights watchdog SOS Homophobie added: "Our country has taken a great step forward today although it's regrettable that it was taken in a climate of bad faith and homophobic violence."
Gay marriage across the world
Nations with similar laws:
Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina, Denmark, Uruguay, New Zealand
Partial rules:
Gay couples can marry in nine US states, as well as in the capital Washington, while parts of Mexico and Brazil also allow same-sex marriage.
Expected soon:
Same-sex couples in Britain have had the right to live in civil partnerships since 2005 but cannot marry. Lawmakers voted in February in favor of gay marriage, despite opposition from some of Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party.
Civil unions:
Some countries have adopted laws that recognise civil partnerships. Countries to have recognized civil unions without yet accepting gay marriage include Germany, Finland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Ireland and Colombia.
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