Meanwhile in France...
The government is trying to pass a law with roughly the same idea, but so stupid that there are even LGBT associations against it.
It generated a massive protest movement against it, who is primarily asking for public debates instead of passing the law on fifth wheel (though some are simply against homosexual marriage, most just want those public debates).
The government decided that listening to those who elected them is a bad idea, and is accelerating the process even more.
Giant street protestations ensures.
The government, of course, try to hinder them as much as possible. For example, the biggest avenues are forbidden to them as late as possible, sometimes to let protestations for the law take place instead - with around a thousand time less people.
During the last one, while surprisingly non-violent (about a few hundreds people tried to force one police barrage), police forces threw tear gas to people (with children) without provocation. A baby had to spend 30 min under mechanical ventilation.
The official Police numbers are about 350k people, the organizers' about 1.4M, and the DCRI estimation (French equivalent to the FBI - if anyone has the real numbers, it's them) is about 1.7M. It's possibly the biggest street protest in France since the last two Republics. It's also possibly the first protesters to underestimate their own numbers.
The government don't even want to hear about it. The Préfécture de Police publish crudely faked images of the protests (blurred, full of artefacts, trees with the wrong foliage, missing zebra crossings). A minister talked about 'a handful of protesters'.
Let's remember, it's the same government who mass-amnestied violent syndicalist protests (with propriety damage and injured cops) just a while ago.
It's also the same government who let a bank robber escape by blowing 4 doors up with dynamite, because they decided it was a good idea to not body-search prisoners in this high-security prison.
A few days later, about a hundred protesters, who assembled before the parlimant, were arrested before having even time to begin protesting. The cops themselves were taken aback by the orders, as public protesters are quite common there. In fact, France has a tradition to be very tolerant with public protesters.
There were even more taken aback when those people were charged for illegal protests (they risk a hefty fine and one year of prison). This kind of never happens.
And many, many things in the same vein.
It's to the point that even a bisexual who don't care the least for marriage like myself is talking about the worst denial of democracy this country has known for the last decades.
It is particularly surprising as French forces are currently engaged and fighting for Mali's democracy, to the point that people out there are asking them to stay longer.
Go figure.
And everyone is losing at this game :
The LGBT that would want to marry, because this law is so stupid it's menacing the credibility of the idea itself.
The LGBT in general, as violent groups starts to feed on the general exasperation, and violence against LGBT is rising.
The government's majority, as this is organizing and developing a solid opposition.
The opposition, as the extremist groups are growing.
The citizens, as their own government is showing them that they don't car about democracy at all. And as the million other problems (economic crisis, runaway public debt, awful justice system, failing public services and education...) don't get the attention and efforts they deserve. And, again, it is making extremist groups grow on both sides.
I wish I was exaggerating. But if anything, I'm not even pointing out all the stupid things this government is doing on that matter.
The worst part is that they probably aren't against democracy itself, or wanting to take full powers dictatorship-style, or anything like that. They seem to do that out of sheer incompetence.
It's hard to express how depressing this thought is.
