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French lawmakers has legalized gay marriage today after a wrenching national debate and protests that flooded the streets of Paris. Legions of officers and water cannon stood ready near France's National Assembly ahead of the final vote, bracing for possible violence on an issue that galvanized the country's faltering conservative movement.

The measure passed easily in the
Socialist-majority Assembly, 331-225,
just minutes after the president of the
legislative body expelled a disruptive
protester in pink, the color adopted by
French opponents of gay marriage.

Justice Minister Christiane Taubira told lawmakers that the first weddings could be as soon as June.

"We believe that the first weddings
will be beautiful and that they'll bring
a breeze of joy, and that those who
are opposed to them today will surely
be confounded when they are overcome with the happiness of the newlyweds and the families," she said.

http://gistmetro..com/2013/04/france-legalizes-gay-marriage-after.html