# ...Gay Marriage now legal in France **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 23, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-now-legal-in-france/656500 "2013-04-23T15:54:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-now-legal-in-france/656500/1 "2013-04-23T15:54:43Z")
Adopting the same thread format used for New Zealand that beat us to the punch last week : SSM was voted one hour ago by the French parliament, along with adoption rights for SS couples, following some rather agitated weeks during which homophobia reached some new heights (despite a short majority of the population supporting it). The conservative party UMP will demand a constitutional review of the law by the French “supreme court”, on basis yet unknown (those reviews take place before the law can be signed by the president, and are normally done in quick order). The first marriages are expected to take place in June. Previously, France had a kind of civil union that didn’t grant all the rights of marriage, and unexpectedly ended up being used at 95% by heterosexual couples. France would be the 14th country to legalize SSM. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-now-legal-in-france/656500/2 "2013-04-23T15:58:18Z")
“Gay Paree” will finally live up to its name. Congratulations! For some reason, it puts Prince’s “7” lyrics into my head All 7 and we’ll watch them fall They stand in the way of love And we will smoke them all With an intellect and a savoir-faire No one in the whole universe Will ever compare I am yours now and you are mine And together we’ll love through All space and time, so don’t cry One day all 7 will die ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-now-legal-in-france/656500/3 "2013-04-23T16:04:15Z")
C’est des actualités merveilleuses ! Hmmmmm . . . I wonder whether a U.S. couple could get married in Paris. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-now-legal-in-france/656500/4 "2013-04-23T16:09:11Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > C’est des actualités merveilleuses ! _Mais oui!_ > [@panache45](#): > > Hmmmmm . . . I wonder whether a U.S. couple could get married in Paris. As I understand it, the problem is not that US same-sex couples can’t get married in other countries; it’s that the marriages aren’t recognized when they get back to the States. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-now-legal-in-france/656500/5 "2013-04-23T16:10:17Z")
Whoop! Well done France, hopefully we’re next (UK, bill passed it’s second reading easily, currently going through the fine details…). ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-now-legal-in-france/656500/6 "2013-04-23T16:18:50Z")
Excellent! ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-now-legal-in-france/656500/7 "2013-04-23T16:23:40Z")
I’ll reserve commentary on other social issues France needs to appropriately address for another forum, and simply congratulate them on passing this historic piece of legislation. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-now-legal-in-france/656500/8 "2013-04-23T16:35:21Z")
The protests were pretty embarrassing, but the real question is: where was the singing in parliament?! After NZ all other countries are just going to be disappointing 😃 Still: Hourra! (I’m going for a French “huzzah” but I don’t actually know what it is… Is this right?) ---
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-now-legal-in-france/656500/9 "2013-04-23T16:46:17Z")
Now if only a country that so proudly talks about “equal justice under the law” (as carved onto the front of the US Supreme Court building) could do the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![llcoolbj77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb9ed0/32.png) [@llcoolbj77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/llcoolbj77)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-now-legal-in-france/656500/10 "2013-04-23T16:55:33Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > The protests were pretty embarrassing, but the real question is: where was the singing in parliament?! After NZ all other countries are just going to be disappointing 😃 > > Still: Hourra! (I’m going for a French “huzzah” but I don’t actually know what it is… Is this right?) I totally burst out into tears of joy watching this on u-tubes. One day we’ll (USA) will get it right. Until then, I’ll be jealous of NZ. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-now-legal-in-france/656500/11 "2013-04-23T20:40:06Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > C’est des actualités merveilleuses ! > > Hmmmmm . . . I wonder whether a U.S. couple could get married in Paris. I don’t think so. France, like many European countries, has rules in place to discourage “marriage tourism”. IIRC at least one partner must either be a French citizen, or resident in France for a certain amount of time. I know French couples need special permission to get married in a _commune_ that neither of them live in. At least as far as the civil wedding goes; religous ceremonies have no legal significange under French law & are unregulated. What would really be nice is if one of France’s Caribbean territories could get a waiver letting US couples get married there. AFAIK none of the Dutch territories actually allows same-sex marriage locally. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-now-legal-in-france/656500/12 "2013-04-23T20:46:30Z")
> [@Slypork](#): > > Now if only a country that so proudly talks about “equal justice under the law” (as carved onto the front of the US Supreme Court building) could do the same thing. Well, it also has the Ten Commandments, IIRC. Also, never underestimate how hard it is to do something federally when you’ve got fifty states all wanting (and having the right) to do it their way. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-now-legal-in-france/656500/13 "2013-04-23T21:34:53Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Also, never underestimate how hard it is to do something federally when you’ve got fifty states all wanting (and having the right) to do it their way. On the bright side, the Nevada senate voted today to begin the procedure to eliminate the SSM ban from the state constitution and replace it with language affirming the right to marriage between whatever genders. Assuming it passes any hurdles, it won’t make it onto the ballot until 2016 but you’ve got to start somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-now-legal-in-france/656500/14 "2013-04-23T21:40:15Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > On the bright side, the Nevada senate voted today to begin the procedure to eliminate the SSM ban from the state constitution and replace it with language affirming the right to marriage between whatever genders. Assuming it passes any hurdles, it won’t make it onto the ballot until 2016 but you’ve got to start somewhere. Unfortunately, until SSMs are given full faith and credit, what happens in Vegas will have to stay in Vegas. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-now-legal-in-france/656500/15 "2013-04-23T21:47:08Z")
And so France begins the slow, inevitable slide to socialized medicine, gun control and lousy beer. Oh, wait. ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-now-legal-in-france/656500/16 "2013-04-23T23:19:45Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > What would really be nice is if one of France’s Caribbean territories could get a waiver letting US couples get married there. AFAIK none of the Dutch territories actually allows same-sex marriage locally. The big Dutch islands, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten, are separate “constituent countries” within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and they don’t allow same-sex marriage. The smaller islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba are now part of the Netherlands proper, and so they do. EDIT: however, they require that at least one of the partners have Dutch nationality or permanent residence. It’s also allowed in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, which has a Caribbean coastline. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-now-legal-in-france/656500/17 "2013-04-24T07:09:51Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > I don’t think so. France, like many European countries, has rules in place to discourage “marriage tourism”. IIRC at least one partner must either be a French citizen, or resident in France for a certain amount of time. I know French couples need special permission to get married in a _commune_ that neither of them live in. Indeed. One of the spouse must be a resident in the municipality where the marriage takes place. No nasty homosexual foreigners marrying in our pure country. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-now-legal-in-france/656500/18 "2013-04-24T15:46:49Z")
¡Olé! 🙂 And the residence limitation doesn’t mean you can’t get married in France if you’re a foreigner, just if you’re a non-resident - although there may be other limitations which do, for this specific case. Spain doesn’t have a residence limitation in any case but the marriage entered (or its translation) has to be valid in the country or countries of which the spouses to be are citizens/nationals: so, no Americans can enter a SSM while in Spain, since they’re not valid at the federal level, but a French person now can. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-now-legal-in-france/656500/19 "2013-04-24T22:55:03Z")
Good for France! > [@Slypork](#): > > Now if only a country that so proudly talks about “equal justice under the law” (as carved onto the front of the US Supreme Court building) could do the same thing. Well, we’re working on it, [one state at a time](http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2013/04/24/rhode_island_gay_marriage_state_senate_clears_way_for_state_to_become_10th.html). > [@Leaper](#): > > Well, it also has the Ten Commandments, IIRC. [Nah, not really.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5451987) (That’s like an eight-year-old post, so I don’t know if the external links still work or not.) ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-now-legal-in-france/656500/20 "2013-04-24T23:08:54Z")
Any idea why it took France so long? I mean, I’d have expected France to be one of the first to have gay marriage. It’s _France_! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-now-legal-in-france/656500.md?page=2)