Tuesday, June 14, 2011

France's Parliament Rejects a Gay Marriage Bill; Lower House Votes 293 to 222 to Block the Bill

The Yahoo News website reports that France's lower house of parliament today (June 14, 2011) rejected a bill that would have allowed gays to marry in France.

The house -- dominated by the ruling right-wing UMP (Union for a Popular Movement) party -- voted by 293 votes to 222 to block the bill, with most left-wing lawmakers backing it and most of the right opposed.

Socialist Part lawmaker Patrick Bloche had called the bill a measure to end a form of discrimination and "pass to a new stage in equality of rights."

Several of France's fellow European Union member states -- including Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands -- have legalized homosexual and lesbian marriages.

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