Monday, January 14, 2013

French Gay Marriage Bill Will Go Ahead Despite Protest


Hundreds of thousands hit the streets of Paris over the weekend in protest of the plans to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples, but France’s same-sex marriage bill will go ahead said French Justice Minister Christine Taubira.

Current laws in France allow same-sex couples to enter into civil unions, however president François Hollande has made a pledge to extend their rights to full marriage.

Authorities say that 340,000 people attended the march, while organisers say that it was closer to 1 million marchers in attendance.

The diverse crowd included people of all ages, many of whom waving banners with anti-gay slogans. One young woman wore a cardboard hat with the slogan “Made by Mother and Father”. Beside her, another protester’s hat read “Zero mother = depressing.”

Twitter was also alight with activity, with Bruno Gollnisch, a National Front politician, who said: “Gay people want children as pets.”

According to surveys, support for gay marriage in France has slipped to under 55 percent from over 65 percent since opponents began to speak out. 

Despite the pressure to scrap the marriage bill or to put it to national referendum, French Justice Minister Christine Taubira says that the bill will go ahead as planned.