France Divided Over Gay Marriage Issue
January 28, 2013
French lawmakers debate a new law Tuesday which would allow gay couples to marry and adopt children. A number of countries in Europe have enacted laws allowing homosexual couples to marry, but the issue has sparked heated debate in France.
The issue of children has come to dominate the debate in France. Allowing same-sex couples to adopt has divided the country, even more deeply than allowing them to marry.
The Socialist party of President Francois Hollande enjoys a majority in parliament and should easily vote the bill through.
But the law’s opponents are determined to stop it.
One woman has become the public face of that opposition. Frigide Barjot, a comedienne with striking blonde hair, says the majority of French people are behind her.
Barjot says that families must stay united around the concept of parenthood. Even if some children are raised between loving couples of the same sex, she says, the child cannot lose his or her origin without losing the ties that bind society.
Polls show a slim majority support gay marriage. But Barjot and her backers are demanding a referendum and are taking their protests beyond Paris to other parts of the country.
A march against the law change in the capital last month attracted hundreds of thousands of people.
Among them were members of ‘"Homovox," a website which provides a platform for homosexuals who oppose gay marriage.
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