France's Top Catholic Bishop Says Gay Marriage Will Cause Violence

Cardinal Andre Wingt-Trois, France's top Catholic bishop told a meeting of French bishops that the government risked inciting more violence by "rushing" a marriage equality law through the legislature, Reuters reports:

Vingt-Trois, the archbishop of Paris, said the difference between the sexes was a basic human trait and denying it by legalizing marriage and adoption for homosexuals would weaken society's ability to manage its differences peacefully.

"This is the way a violent society develops," he told the spring meeting of the French bishops' conference. "Society has lost its capacity of integration and especially its ability to blend differences in a common project." ...

...Vingt-Trois accused the government of rushing the law through parliament without sufficient public debate.

"Forcing it through can simplify things for a while," he said. "To avoid paralyzing political life when there are grave economic and social decisions to take, it would have been more reasonable and simple to not have started this process."

Anti-gay marriage protest have erupted in violence in recent weeks over the proposed law.

70 Anti-Gay Marriage Protesters Arrested in Paris for Trying to Set Up Campsite Outside National Assembly

French police today arrested approximately 70 anti-gay activists today as they tried to set up camp outside the National Assembly in advance of a final April 23 vote on marriage equality, Reuters reports:

Around 70 people were arrested early on Monday and placed in custody after they tried to set up a campsite outside the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, near the banks of the Seine river, a police official said.

Another 19 protesters were stopped by police for identity checks late on Sunday as they waited for Interior Minister Manuel Valls to leave a concert hall in the capital.

Violent rhetoric by anti-gay groups is being ratcheted up in advance of the vote, with one anti-gay leader declaring blood would be spilled should the legislature vote for equality.

The April 23 date is a new one, weeks earlier than initially planned.

Watch a Christian World News report on the marriage debate in France, AFTER THE JUMP...

Gay Couple Brutally Beaten in Paris Attack

Wilfred de Bruijn and his boyfriend were beaten in Paris for walking arm-in-arm, The Local reports:

According to de Bruijn, he was attacked with his boyfriend in the 19th arrondissement of Paris on Saturday night simply because they were gay. France’s gay rights groups say the savage beating comes as homophobic incidents are on the rise.

They blame the increasingly radical and stubborn anti-gay marriage movement.

Hours after being subjected to the beating, De Bruijn put the photo on his Facebook page. It has since been shared thousands of times across social media.

“Sorry to show you this,” the victim wrote. “It’s the face of homophobia. Last night 19th arrondissement, Paris, Olivier and I were badly beaten just for walking arm in arm. “I woke up in an ambulance covered in blood, missing tooth and broken bones around the eye. I’m home now. Very sad.”

France's Senate is currently considering a marriage equality bill. Two weeks ago hundreds of thousands turned out in Paris from all over France for a demonstration against the proposed law. The anti-gay march sparked violent riots with police.

Protesters Riot with Police as Hundreds of Thousands March Against Gay Marriage in Paris: VIDEOS

A massive demonstration to stop the legalization of same-sex marriage brought out thousands of conservatives to the streets of Paris today.

Watch videos of the clashes and a report from Euronews, AFTER THE JUMP...

The Guardian reports:

Hundreds of thousands of people – conservative activists, children, retirees, priests – many bussed in from the French provinces – converged on the capital on Sunday in a last-ditch bid to stop the bill.

The lower house of France's parliament approved the "marriage for everyone" bill last month with a large majority, and it now faces a vote in the Senate next month. Both houses are dominated by President François Hollande's Socialist party and its allies. Sustained protests led by opposition conservatives in this traditionally Catholic country have eroded support for the draft law in recent months, and organisers hope Sunday's march will weigh on the Senate debate.

The first few hours of the protest were peaceful. But as it was meant to be winding down, about 100 youths tried to push past police barricades on to the Champs-Elysées. In an indication of the sensitivity of the issue, protesters had been barred from marching on the avenue that cuts through central Paris and draws throngs of tourists daily..

The crowd was estimated at 300,000 people, though organizers said it was 1.2 million.

Tears gas was used on a number of rioting protesters, The Local reports:

100 to 200 frustrated protestors had reportedly attempted to breach a police barricade blocking them from entering the Champs Elysees. In response, riot police forcibly pushed them back from the fences, as well as spraying them with tear gas.

Jean-François Copé, leader of the centre-right opposition UMP party, who was present at the protest, called for President Hollande to be "held to account", and expressed his "indignation" that tear gas had been deployed "against families present with their children."

Watch videos of the clashes and a report from Euronews, AFTER THE JUMP...

UPDATE: Real ugliness. Apparently the protesters were using children as human shields.

French Poll Shows Slight Uptick In Equality Support

A new poll out of France shows a small improvement in the number of voters who support marriage equality.

From Reuters:

The number of people who support the legalisation of same-sex marriage in France has risen despite major protests against the government's planned reforms earlier this month, a new poll by Ifop for news website Atlantico.fr showed.

The proportion of those surveyed supporting the change in the law rose to 63 percent from 60 percent in early January and December.

Support for adoption rights for gay couples also rose by 3 percentage points, although the country remains divided on the issue, with 49 percent in favour, according to the international marketing firm.

While good news on the surface, never forget that polls should be taken with a grain of salt.

NOM's Brian Brown Revels in Anti-Gay French Camaraderie: VIDEO

Last weekend's anti-gay marriage march in Paris, which was attended by hundreds of thousands of mostly Catholics was also attended by NOM's Brian Brown, who recorded a giddy video for his supporters.

Check it out, AFTER THE JUMP...

Yesterday, the Human Rights Campaign hailed the end of NOM, calling it a paper tiger:

A new opposition research report out from HRC today finds that NOM was largely a paper-tiger movement this past year. In New York specifically, NOM promised that it would spend $2 million to defeat the four Republican State Senators in New York who backed the legislature’s same-sex marriage bill in 2011. NOM then backpedalled, saying it would spend $250,000 in the primary fights. According to NOM PAC NY’s campaign finance reports, it only raised $45,000 and only spent $40,000 in 2012 – nowhere near what it claimed it would spend.

The momentum for marriage equality is indisputable. Four state legislatures passed same-sex marriage legislation during 2011-12, and voters in four states for the first time in history approved marriage equality on the ballot last November. This string of legislative and electoral victories would not have been possible without Republican support. National and statewide polling consistently shows majorities – including African Americans, Latinos, millennials, Democrats, and Independents - back gay and lesbian couples receiving marriage licenses. And marriage equality supporters have more intensity than opponents, according to a recent post-election poll conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner.

Opponents’ financing is also drying up. They were outspent almost three to one last year, $12 million to $34 million in the ballot campaigns. More broadly, tax documents obtained by HRC last fall show that NOM’s funding declined by one-third for 2011 – and that a whopping 75 percent of the anti-gay organization’s funding came from just two donors. It’s not surprising then that NOM is unable to follow through on the threats the group makes to Republicans supportive of marriage equality.

Read HRC's report HERE.

Watch Brian Brown, AFTER THE JUMP...