Gay Marriage in France as Seen by the US: "Just Who's the Prude Now, Chers Francais?"

Gay marriage is in the news on either side of the Atlantic. While the Supreme Court is reluctant to speak on the subject ([Will there be] a response on Monday?), it’s a big subject outside of the budget debate and the “fiscal cliff.” The Americans find the anti-marriage demonstrations in France astonishing. “The clamor against gay marriage in France flies in the face of a country famous for its supposedly open-minded attitudes on a host of social and behavioral issues,” writes Bruce Crumley of Time magazine in his article entitled “Is Gay Marriage Too Progressive for the French?”

At the moment, it must be said that even if Serge Dassault evoked homosexuality among the Greeks as a source of decadence, gay marriage was approved by referendum in the following U.S. states: Maine, Maryland and Washington. Gay marriage is now legal in nine states. 10 other states have established partnership agreements giving equal rights to same-sex couples. That’s not bad for a country that the French still see as being under the control of puritan bigots.

Even though there is still a long way to go, surveys show that attitudes have changed considerably. In the past 20 years, homosexuality has become recognized almost everywhere in the United States, even in the conservative state of Texas. The mayor of Houston is an open lesbian. “Just who’s the prude now, chers français?” asks Bruce Crumley.

Of course, there is no need to embellish. Teens are harassed for confessing their difference here too. Like in France, some even resort to suicide. In rural states dotted with ever-present religious signs and dominated by a fundamentalist Christian majority, it is certainly not easy to deviate from the biblical commandments. But in general, American society seems ahead of ours.

The tolerance is not only in the most progressive states, but also in most big cities. Among young people, anti-bullying campaigns conducted for years seem to have positive results, according to the ease with which more and more young people are open about their homosexuality with their friends. Every day in the New York Times, there are announcements of gay marriages; chronicles about proper manners give advice on the subtleties of seating plans with same-sex couples. The right to indifference is clearly gaining ground everywhere.

Recently, Barack Obama, who announced that he was in favor of gay marriage last spring, has progressed it even further. In response to a little girl who said she was raised by two fathers and told him in her letter that other children found this strange, he wrote, “In America, no two families look the same. We celebrate this diversity. And we recognize that whether you have two dads or one mom what matters above all is the love we show one another.” Made public by the girl’s family, the letter from the president created a buzz, but no controversy.

The Times created some controversy among its readers; some highlighted the hypocrisy on questions of sexuality and race of the country of “liberty, equality, fraternity.” The conclusion of one reader was, “American society is far from perfect, but the U.S. is much more tolerant of gays than most countries.”*

*Editor’s Note: This quotation, accurately translated, could not be verified.