posted on July 29, 2004 08:49:37 AM new
France voids gay couple's marriage
Tue Jul 27, 7:32 PM ET
Yahoo!
Ben Townley, Gay.com U.K.
SUMMARY: French authorities have officially annulled the country's first marriage of a gay couple.
French authorities have officially annulled the country's first marriage of a gay couple.
A court in Bordeaux ruled that the marriage of Bertrand Charpentier, 31, and Stephane Chapin, 33, was illegal and could not be allowed.
It follows ongoing arguments across the country as to whether same-sex couples should be given marriage equality, a debate sparked when the mayor of the Bordeaux suburb of Begles announced he planned to marry Charpentier and Chapin earlier this year.
Despite warnings from senior French authorities, including the country's Justice Minister Dominique Perben, Mayor Noel Mamere went ahead with the ceremony and made international headlines.
Mamere was suspended from his duties as a result, but said he did not regret his decision to conduct the ceremony and raise awareness of the lack of equality for lesbian and gay couples.
The country currently has a civil union registration system for same-sex couples, known as PACS, although it falls short of many of the rights and responsibilities given to heterosexual married couples.
As a response to the debate, the government has already hinted that the PACS system may be extended so as to give more rights to lesbian and gay couples.
The decision to annul the marriage was expected, since Perben and President Jacques Chirac had already said the wedding was invalid.
However, the couple had warned that should their marriage be cancelled, they would take their case to the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that it infringes on their human rights.
So far there is no confirmation that they plan to do this.
Who would of thought that France could do something right... maybe we can learn something from them
posted on July 29, 2004 09:01:24 AM new
Gosh and I would have thought that homosexuals would be marrying each other all over France and the government would allow it. I mean come on it's FRANCE, the frog in your throat homosexual country.
posted on July 29, 2004 09:50:20 AM new
Last week [or so] I was reading that the first Canadian gay divorce took place.
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Don't mention France doing anything right to me. They're still up to their ol' tricks and blocking NATO forces from going into Iraq for training purposes.
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"One thing is for sure: the extremists have faith in our weakness. And the weaker we are, the more they will come after us." --Tony Blair
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"The War on Terror will not be won until America is united. And as long as Democrats target the Bush administration -- not the terrorists -- as the enemy, we are in trouble." --Oliver North
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posted on July 29, 2004 09:58:47 AM new
ya see how far back in the news I am. I didn't know that Canada allowed gay marriage. Now their having their first divorce?
They're still up to their ol' tricks and blocking NATO forces from going into Iraq for training purposes.
