FRANCE: Marriage Bill Set For Oct. 31st

A draft version of France's same-sex marriage bill will be presented to President Francois Hollande on October 31st.  Newspapers are screaming that the bill bans the words "mother and father."

The draft law states that "marriage is a union of two people, of different or the same gender." It says all references to "mothers and fathers" in the civil code – which enshrines French law – will be swapped for simply "parents". The law would also give equal adoption rights to homosexual and heterosexual couples. Justice Minister Christiane Taubira told France's Catholic newspaper La Croix: "Who is to say that a heterosexual couple will bring a child up better than a homosexual couple, that they will guarantee the best conditions for the child's development?"