Google Hangouts Tackles French Gay Marriage In Emotional Ad: VIDEO

Nearly a month ago to the day, France legalized same-sex marriage, and in honor of the momentous occasion Google created an advertisement for its video-chatting system, Google Hangouts. The ad looks at several French gay couples who use the technology as a way to get around France's previous restriction on same-sex marriage, engaging in remote weddings with Belgian officiators. The organization "Together for equality," or "Tous Unis Pour L'Egalite" is the power behind the video weddings. It just goes to show that love cannot be stopped, by geography, politics, or closed minds.  

Be advised: the video's a tear-jerker.  

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Pope Francis Urges French MPs to Reject 'Fashions of the Time' (Like Gay Marriage?)

In what is being seen as a reference to the recently passed law legalizing same-sex marriage, Pope Francis told a group of French MPs to resist "fashions of the time" in legislation, AFP reports:

“Your role... consists in proposing laws, amending them or even repealing  them,” the pontiff told a delegation of MPs from France, adding that it is
 
“necessary... to inject them with something more, a spirit, a soul which does not just reflect fashions and ideas of the time.”    The laws should “provide the indispensable quality which raises and  ennobles the human person,” the 76-year-old said.

The remark comes a day after he spoke with the Archbishop of Canterbury about promoting family values "based on marriage" yet neglected to include divisive language referring to marriage as between a man and a woman.

The Daily Show's John Oliver 'Gaywatches' The Boy Scouts, France, Russia, and Pope Francis: VIDEO

John Oliver, filling in for Jon Stewart while he's on summer hiatus, is doing a bang-up job, and last night blasted the Boy Scouts for their policy of accepting gay scouts but banning scout leaders, calling it "a tragic end for the merit badge for closet-staying.".

He added, of the policy: "They're happy to welcome anyone with homosexual thoughts up until the age when they're old enough to act on them. That must create an awkward situation at Boy Scout graduation."

Leader: Congratulations Scout. Gay Scouts make us all proud.

Gay Scout: Oh, I'm happy to hear that. I'd like to come back as a leader one day.

Leader: You burn in hell, pervert!

In a special international edition of 'Gaywatch', Oliver also looks at Russia's ban on 'gay propaganda', Pope Francis and the Vatican's 'gay lobby', and the anti-gay marriage protests in France.

How is it that France's anti-gay protests (below) look so much gayer than our pro-gay protests?

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

French Anti-Gay Marriage Activists to Target Tour de France

France's anti-gay marriage activists are not giving up. They have announced they will be targeting the Tour de France to get their message across, The Local reports:

"From June 29th to July 21st, we will have an incredible global visibility  to show our fight against the law," read a statement on a new Facebook page created to inspire protesters to line the 3,360-kilometre route.
 
And while the first stage of the race will get rolling on the island of Corsica, the remaining 20 stages will cover well near every corner of mainland France, offering protestors across the country the chance to snatch a bit of prime-time coverage.
 
Their Facebook page implored would-be demonstrators to send private messages with points on the route they would consider protesting at, giving the impression that the 'Tour Pour Tous' (Tour for all) will try to organize as wide a coverage of the famous event as possible.
 
The page also launched the hashtag #tourpourtous to prompt users on the social media site Twitter to rally to the protesters' defence. By Wednesday, proponents and opponents alike had begun using the keyword to trade jibes.

Anti-gay activists have already targeted the French Open with a flaming protester.

French Olympic Swimmers Become Gay Couple for Anti-Homophobia Campaign

Florent Manaudou, a gold medalist for France in London 2012, and freestyle world record holder Frédérick Bousquet are making waves on social media in a new anti-homophobia campaign in which they pose as an "imaginary couple", Outsports reports.

The couple's photo, posted on photographer Olivier Ciappa's Facebook page, has been shared more than 7,800 times since Sunday.

Gay Film Posters Too Hot for the Parisian Suburbs

Posters for the gay French thriller L’Inconnu Du Lac (Stranger By The Lake), which screened at Cannes, are being pulled by French municipalities because of its depiction of gay love, Deadline reports:

But on the eve of its release in France, where expressions of sexuality are de rigueur and where gay marriage was recently legalized, the film’s advertising (left) proved too much for some. In the Parisian suburbs of Versailles and Saint-Cloud, a series of promotional posters was pulled at the request of the individual town halls, ad firm JC Decaux told AFP. The mayor’s office in Saint-Cloud said it had been “harassed” by phone calls and emails about the poster since it went up last week. Versailles says it did not contact JC Decaux, but a rep told French media it was understandable that the image “could shock people who find themselves disarmed by posters in the street that address sexuality.”

Check out the trailer here.