BORDEAUX, France — A court yesterday annulled France’s first homosexual “marriage,” setting a legal precedent for outlawing such unions.
The conservative government had declared the “marriage” invalid and suspended the mayor who conducted it June 5 in the Bordeaux suburb of Begles. The court ruling was a blow for opposition politicians who want to make same-sex “marriages” legal.
“The tribunal declared null and void the marriage between Mr. Stephane Chapin and Mr. Bertrand Charpentier,” the court in Bordeaux said in its ruling.
Mr. Chapin, a 33-year-old home care worker, and Mr. Charpentier, a 31-year-old shop worker, said they would appeal the ruling and take their fight to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary.
“We will fight to the end, as we said two months ago, but we will win because we have faith in our country,” Mr. Charpentier said outside the court.
The couple’s attorney, Emmanuel Pierrat, said the court had based its ruling on the argument that marriage traditionally is considered the foundation of the family and that one of its main functions is to have children.
He said the couple remained legally “married” pending their appeal.
Justice Minister Dominique Perben had said immediately after the “marriage” that it was null and void. The Interior Ministry suspended local Mayor Noele Mamere for conducting the ceremony after warnings by Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin.
Mr. Mamere, a Green party member of Parliament who is waging a battle against traditional family values, said he was not surprised by the court’s decision.
“It would have been a revolution if the ruling had gone the other way because the judges came under pressure from the authorities to make an adventurous interpretation of the civil code,” Mr. Mamere said.
The “marriage” stirred debate in France, where the law allows civil unions between homosexuals, although homosexuals say this puts them at a disadvantage in terms of tax, inheritance and adoption rights.
Homosexual rights activists hailed the “marriage” as a victory for tolerance and it was welcomed by opposition politicians who have promised to push for a pro-homosexual “marriage” law.
A survey by Elle magazine showed 64 percent of French people were in favor of same-sex “marriage.”
But conservatives denounced the ceremony as an attack on the sanctity of marriage and Mr. Mamere’s foes dismissed it as a political stunt.
Members of President Jacques Chirac’s ruling Conservative party, Roman Catholic church leaders and some opposition Socialists have said children need a mother and a father and that the issue was too serious to be discussed in a hurry.
The issue of same-sex “marriages” has stirred debate in other countries, including the United States, where President Bush wants a constitutional ban on such “marriages.”
Belgium, the Netherlands, the state of Massachusetts and three Canadian provinces have legalized same-sex “marriage.” Spain’s new Socialist government plans to present a draft law on same-sex “marriages” in September.
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