Gay Marriage Bill Introduced In France

Paris, France
June 7, 2004 (UPI)

Leftist lawmakers introduced a draft bill to legalize gay marriage Monday, after a mayor performed the country's first same-sex wedding. The bill was sponsored by National Assembly deputy Noel Mamere and other members of France's Greens Party.

On Saturday, Mamere, who is also the mayor of the French town, Begles, near Bordeaux, celebrated the wedding of a gay male couple.

He faces potential legal and administrative sanctions for the marriage, which the conservative government maintains is against the law. But Monday, Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin told Europe 1 radio Mamere would probably not lose his job as mayor, although he may be suspended for 30 days.

Mamere has unleashed a major debate in France over the marriage ceremony.

Gay marriage is legal in Belgium and the Netherlands. Many other European countries have legalized some form of same-sex unions.

In France, gay couples can sign Civil Solidarity Pacts, but the deal offers fewer rights than formal marriage. The draft legislation proposes to modify parts of France's civil code to allow same-sex weddings. Mamere argues there is nothing in French law specifically forbidding gay marriages.