Right-wing oppose gay parent law
Early talks on new law that could give gay partners of parents more rights causes controversy inside and outside government.
A PROPOSED law giving legal recognition to step-parents is being opposed by some right-wingers, because it would include same sex partners.
The proposals by the family minister, Nadine Morano, give explicit recognition for the first time to the existence of families based on gay or lesbian couples.
Housing Minister Christine Boutin, and UMP Party MP Jean-Marc Nesme are among those who have spoken out against the idea.
“I will not accept that they bring in recognition of gay parenting and adoption by the back door,” Boutin said.
Mr Nesme said Morano had “buckled under pressure from the homosexual lobby” and her law would “create confusion, deny the importance of biological parenthood and legitimise the denial of sexual difference.”
Right-winger Philippe de Villiers of Mouvement Pour la France demanded that Sarkozy “make Morano see sense” and veto her law which would “destabilise the family.”
However Nouveau centre MP Olivier Jardé welcomed the initiative, saying it would help make for a “stable educational environment” for the child.
At present a new partner of a parent has no rights concerning the child unless they apply to adopt them (not allowed to gay couples) or in the context of delegation d’autorité parentale – a procedure applied via a judge, where responsibility for daily tasks related to the child may be delegated from a parent to another responsible adult. In theory this can be a gay partner, but judges are reticent to allow it.
The new law would give new rights to third parties who live with the child or with one of his or her parents and with whom the child has developed a close relationship. As a result such people as step parents and gay or lesbian partners could officially have a judge recognise that they share part of the parental authority.
The Family Minister believes this is a necessary recognition of a changing society – almost 10% of children live in families where one of the adults is not their biological parent and another 14% live in single-parent families.
Official government statistics say 30,000 children live with gay parents, while the Association des Parents Gays et Lesbiens believes the real figure to be ten times as many.
“The point is simply to take better account of the child’s interests and to make the organisation of ordinary daily tasks easier for those involved, whether they are straight or not,” said Morano
