France legalizes gay marriage after harsh debate
BY LORI HINNANT AND SYLVIE CORBET | The Associated Press April 23, 2013 10:26AM
Frigide Barjot, leader of the movement against gay marriage, 2nd right, talks to the media as she visits mothers, who take part in a vigil to protest against French President Francois Hollande's social reform on gay marriage and adoption next to the Eiffel tower in Paris, Monday, April 22, 2013. Both houses of the French parliament have already approved the bill in a first reading. The second and final reading is expected Tuesday. Eiffel tower is seen in the background. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Updated: April 23, 2013 10:45AM
PARIS — French lawmakers on Tuesday legalized same-sex marriage after months of bruising debate and street protests that brought hundreds of thousands to Paris.
The 331-225 vote came Tuesday in the Socialist majority National Assembly. France’s justice minister, Christiane Taubira, said the first weddings could be as soon as June.
Opponents of the law say France is not ready to legalize adoption for same-sex couples, and polls show a France sharply divided on the issue.
Thousands of police mobilized ahead of the vote, preparing for dueling protests around the National Assembly building and along the Seine River. At least one spectator was ejected from the gallery.
France is the 14th country to legalize gay marriage, and Tuesday’s vote comes a week after New Zealand, with very little controversy, allowed same-sex couples to wed.
