France looks to legalize marriage equality by 2013

Come October, it looks like France will join other European countries like Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Spain in allowing gay marriage.

From LGBTQNation:

The French government is expected to introduce legislation in October that would legalize same-sex marriage, a move that would bring France in line with several European countries and fulfill an campaign promise by President François Hollande.

Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, had previously announced in the French Parliament that gay and lesbian couples would be permitted to marry and adopt children by 2013.

“In October, we will send a bill to the National Assembly and the Senate to allow same-sex couples to marry,” Ayrault said Saturday, in an address to Socialist Party members at their annual gathering. “It would also allow them to form families and adopt children.”

Once introduced, the bill will be debated in France’s two houses of Parliament, which are both controlled by Hollande’s Socialist Party.

France legalized civil partnerships in the 1990s. Polls show a majority of French citizens support marriage equality.