Nearly 15,000 French mayors will refuse to perform homosexual 'marriages,' group says

by Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

PARIS, April 11, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) - According to the organization Mayors for Children, approximately 14,900 French mayors will refuse to celebrate "marriages" between couples of the same sex. More than 20,000 mayors and assistant mayors have signed a petition stating, "I am opposed to the bill that opens marriage and the adoption of children by two people of the same sex."

"Mayors for Children"

A survey conducted by the French polling agency IFOP offers confirmation of the startling figures, estimating that 52 percent of the country's mayors are opposed to the bill.

In France, mayors conduct civil marriage ceremonies or authorize others to do so.

According to Franck Meyer, mayor of the town of Sottesville-sous-le Val and spokesman for the group, in a total of 649 jurisdictions, not a single elected official is willing to perform civil "marriages" for homosexuals.

Meyer told the French magazine Le Figaro that "the law (creating homosexual "marriage") will be difficult to apply throughout the territory, if it is approved."

"It's rare for a bill to unite so many local elected officials against it!" he added, and noted that 3,000 leftist officials have also signed in opposition.

"These days, mayors have many other reasons for discontent, for example the electoral reform and the cycle of the school year, but this is the first time that such a group of mayors has been created," he said.

Despite the widespread opposition of elected officials, as well as massive demonstrations of opposition to the legalization of homosexual "marriage" and adoption, both houses of the French Parliament, the National Assembly and the Senate, have approved a bill to that effect.

The National Assembly is scheduled to review the law again next month before final approval.

According to various surveys in the last two years, more than 60 percent of French say they support homosexual "marriage," although less than 50 percent agree with permitting homosexual couples to adopt.

The current figures represent a major leap for the homosexual agenda in France similar to that of the United States. As late as 2006, 51 percent were opposed to homosexual "marriage" and 60 percent opposed to homosexual adoption.