7 openly gay lears have served as heads of state. Latvian print Edgars Rkēvičs is the latt

Contents:

• FIRST GAY MARRIAGE CELEBRATED FRANCE
• LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE
• 08 MAR 2013 FRANCE EMBRAC GAY MARRIAGE
• GAY MARRIAGE IS PROTTED FRANCE

FIRST GAY MARRIAGE CELEBRATED FRANCE

Dpe support for the reform Montpellier, which boasts of beg France's most gay-iendly town, officials scrapped plans to broadst the weddg live on a giant TV screen and stead beamed live onle to the cy's webse.

"Love each other, love , love one another, bee 's important, " said Aut om a balny to a crowd of hundreds of well-wishers outsi the cy hall, addg the next step would be a law allowg gay upl to adopt children. Backed by a slim majory of French and feted by gay men and lbians when me to force this month, a law makg France the 14th untry to allow same-sex marriage has triggered street protts by nservativ, Catholics and extreme right-wgers. " Frigi Barjot, a pk-clad edian who leads the anti-gay marriage movement, has urged her supporters to stay away om Wednday's weddg and exprsed ncern at right-wgers who have hurled bricks, bottl and firecrackers durg march.

Earlier, French Interr Mister Manuel Valls pledged to toughen penalti for homophobic behavr, cg an crease the number of threats agast gay people on onle foms.

LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE

"It's likely that we'll have to harn penalti for homophobic speech and behavr by law. " Homosexualy, still a crime some 78 untri, has been legal France sce the Revolutn, and the age of nsent was lowered to that of heterosexual relatns 1981. Aut, 40, and Boile, 29, were the first gay uple to apply to marry as Print Hollan was phg through the law, which grants equal marriage and adoptn rights that go beyond existg l for civil partnerships.

Aut proposed by phong Boile at work September ont of cy officials who had jt announced that Montpellier would host the first gay weddg.

08 MAR 2013 FRANCE EMBRAC GAY MARRIAGE

Sce then, ralli that are partly fuelled by anger at the ernment over other issu like the enomy appear to have erod support for the gay marriage law; now stands at 53 percent, wh 47 percent opposed, reflectg a ep natnal divisn, particularly over the adoptn rights clus. Last week, one opponent of gay marriage shot himself ad at the altar of Paris's Notre Dame thedral and on Sunday hundreds of thoands marched the pal to mand the law's repeal.

Related stori:Thoands flood Paris to prott same-sex marriageFrance legaliz gay marriage spe angry protts. Sce the first same-sex marriag took place the Netherlands 2001, more than 30 other jurisdictns have enacted laws allowg gays and lbians to marry, mostly Europe and the Ameris. Argenta 2010Lat Ameri-CaribbeanFirst untry Lat Ameri to allow gay and lbian upl to marry.

Ecuador 2019Lat Ameri-CaribbeanCourt lg ma Ecuador the fifth South Amerin untry to allow gays and lbians to wed.

GAY MARRIAGE IS PROTTED FRANCE

Netherlands2001EuropeFirst untry to legalize same-sex marriage after Parliament passed the law December Zealand 2013Asia-PacificFirst untry the Asia-Pacific regn to allow gays and lbians to 2009EuropeThe law replaced a 1993 statute permtg civil unns. Slovenia 2022EuropeFirst untry formerly munist Eastern Europe to legalize same-sex Ai 2006Sub-Saharan AiOnly Ain untry where same-sex marriage is legal; several untri on the ntent have passed laws that ban homosexualy recent 2005EuropeBeme the third untry globally to legalize same-sex marriage after a vote s closely divid 2009EuropeGay and lbian upl Swen prevly had been allowed to register for civil unns sce 1995. 1%) st ballots favor of legalizg same-sex marriage a 2021 2019Asia-PacificA urt lg prompted a change the law that ma Taiwan the first jurisdictn Asia to perm gays and lbians to Kgdom 2014EuropeLegal same-sex marriage took effect Northern Ireland 2020, six years after the change England and Wal.

The measure put gay and lbian marriag on hold the state, but a feral appeals urt 2010 emed Proposn 8 unnstutnal.