All You Need is Love, Love is All You Need

Police estimates say 125,000 people protested in favor of same-sex marriage yesterday, but it seemed liked a lot more than that, from the looks of the mass march. The protest against the government-proposed bill back in December claimed 340,000, yet approval for same-sex marriage and adoption is up by 3% according to new reports on France 24, the national news channel — now 63% in favor of legalized marriage equality.

We started where the “manifestation” ended — at Place de la Bastille (having begun at Place Denfert-Rochereau), and walked ‘into’ the onslaught of humanity, much like we do during the Gay Pride Parade every June. This time, the marchers were not clad in fabulous costumes nor particularly gay — this time they were people like you and me and any of your friends who were of all genders, all persuasions and all ages, including lots of children and dogs. Among the marchers was Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë, who is openly gay and pro marriage equality.

At one point a leader in the crowd asked everyone to sit just where they were to show their solidarity. It was a special moment to see tens of thousands of people seated, eyes forward, holding their signs and flags, hardly speaking even.

The point of it all is more about adoption than about the union of two people of the same sex, evident by the civil unions (PACS) available since 1999. Opposition is largely the religious right who argue that “the proposed reform would create psychological and social problems for children.”

This idea cracks me up. I think back on the stress many children have in dealing with divorce and living in unhappy heterosexual households and wonder how that compares when two people, of any sex, really care for one another. I’d like to know the statistics of ‘divorce’ among gay couples compared to heterosexual couples before making an assumption that having two parents of the same sex would be psychologically and socially harmful to children.

Don’t get me wrong, but remember, I’ve been a single parent for the last 16 years leaving an unhappy relationship and naturally, I agree with Mayor Delanoë who said when interviewed by the press during the demonstration: “There is a big difference between today’s march and the one two weeks ago, which is that this demonstration is one of brotherhood, not of hatred. The majority of French people want all couples to have equality in love and parenthood.”

Remember something else. Our youth are not as sexually inhibited or closed-minded as our generation. They don’t see color, race, creed or sexuality in such dramatic shades as we did. They live now in a very multi-cultural, multi-racial, multi-national and multi-sexual world with unlimited communications via the Internet. Regardless of what we think, our world will change because of them. So, why fight it when it’s inevitable?

Tuesday will be telling when the French government will start debating the bill and it is predicted to easily pass the Socialist-dominated parliament. If that happens, France would become the 12th country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage including Belgium, Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Norway and South Africa, as well as nine U.S. states and Washington, DC.

I wonder who’s next to jump on the bandwagon?

Excerpt from “All You Need is Love” by the Beatles

There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done

Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung

Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game It’s easy

There’s nothing you can make that can’t me made No one you can save that can’t be saved

Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time It’s easy

All you need is love Love is all you need

There’s nothing you can know that isn’t known

Nothing you can see that isn’t shown

There’s nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be

It’s easy All you need is love Love is all you need…

A la prochaine…

Adrian Leeds
Director of The Adrian Leeds Group, LLC

Respond to Adrian 

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