text: Story highlights France's lower house of parliament approves the bill 329 to 229 
   
   The legislation must be passed by the Senate before it can become law 
   
   The Roman Catholic Church and other religious groups in France are opposed 
   
   Supporters say same-sex couples should have equal rights to marry and adopt children 
   
   Same-sex marriage in France came one step closer to legality Tuesday, as lawmakers in the lower house of parliament approved a controversial bill that would extend the right to marry and adopt to same-sex couples. 
   
   The measure was voted through in the National Assembly by 329 in favor to 229 against, with 10 deputies abstaining. 
   
   The bill must still go before the senate before it becomes law. If passed, it would mark the biggest step forward for French gay rights advocates in more than a decade. 
   
   France is not the only nation currently wrestling with the polarizing issue of same-sex marriage. 
   
   UK lawmakers took a big step last week toward legalizing same-sex marriage when they approved the second reading of a bill in the House of Commons. 
   
   But while a significant number of MPs back the legislation, which is supported by Prime Minister David Cameron, the move has prompted widespread rebellion within Cameron's Conservative Party. The bill must go through several more stages before it can become law. 
   
   JUST WATCHED Open Mic: French on same-sex marriage Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Open Mic: French on same-sex marriage 02:05 
   
   JUST WATCHED UK MPs approve legal same-sex marriage Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH UK MPs approve legal same-sex marriage 06:35 
   
   JUST WATCHED Gay bishop takes message on road Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Gay bishop takes message on road 03:15 
   
   The Church of England is among the religious bodies opposed to the UK legislation. 
   
   In the United States, where President Barack Obama has voiced his personal support for same-sex marriage, it has been legalized in nine states and the District of Columbia -- but many people remain vehemently opposed. 
   
   Extending the right to marry and adopt to same-sex couples in France was one of President Francois Hollande's electoral pledges in campaigning last year. 
   
   The National Assembly, which is dominated by Hollande's Socialist Party, was expected to pass the bill Tuesday, having approved the most important article of the law with a wide majority earlier this month. The left also controls the Senate. 
   
   But the plan faces stiff opposition from the Roman Catholic Church and social conservatives, with huge numbers turning out for protest marches in Paris in recent weeks. 
   
   Another big rally against the law is planned for next month. 
   
   Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, the archbishop of Paris, voiced his opposition at a meeting of French bishops in Lourdes last year. 
   
   Opening up marriage to same-sex couples "would be a transformation of marriage that would affect everyone," he said. At the same time, failing to recognize gender difference within marriage and the family would be a "deceit" that would rock the foundations of society and lead to discrimination between children, he said. 
   
   Other religious groups, including Muslims, Jews and Buddhists, have also expressed their concern over the draft bill, and many lawmakers and hundreds of mayors are against the legislation. 
   
   The legislation has won wide backing from gay rights advocates, however. 
   
   The French gay, lesbian and transgender rights group Inter-LGBT has said the law, if passed, "would be a major advance for our country in terms of equality of rights." 
   
   Lawmakers have a "unique opportunity" to put an end to outdated discrimination, the group said in a statement. "The law must allow all couples to unite themselves as they wish and must protect all families, without discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity," it said. 
   
   A law legalizing civil unions was introduced in 1999 in France under a previous Socialist government. 
   
   Known in France as the PACS (pacte civil de solidarite), the civil union agreement can be entered into by gay or straight couples and confers many but not all of the rights of marriage. 
   
   Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Spain, South Africa and Norway are among nearly a dozen countries that allow same-sex marriages. 
   
   Polls show the U.S. public has gradually become more accepting of the idea, with more Americans in favor in 2013 than opposed, according to Pew. 
   
   Nonetheless, 30 states have passed constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage, according to the Pew Research Center. 
   
   The issue has also divided Australia, where lawmakers voted against a bill to legalize same-sex marriage last September. A poll for the advocacy group Australian Marriage Equality indicated that 64% of those surveyed "support marriage equality." 
   
   According to a report released in May 2011 by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, same-sex relations are still criminalized in 76 countries, and in five of those countries, the death penalty can be applied to those who violate the laws. ||||| France's National Assembly approved the government’s controversial ‘marriage for all’ bill in a final vote on Tuesday after months of fierce debate. The law is President François Hollande’s first major social reform. 
   
   France’s lower house voted by a clear majority on Tuesday to approve the government’s marriage reform, which will allow same-sex couples the same spousal and adoption rights as their heterosexual counterparts. 
   
   The legislation, which is President François Hollande’s first major social reform and a key election pledge, was backed by 329 deputies and opposed by 229. 
   
   The bill redefines marriage as a contract between two people rather than between a man and a woman. It will now go to the left-wing-controlled Senate, or upper house, on April 2, which is expected to approve it. 
   
   Once passed, the reform will see France join 11 other gay-marriage friendly countries including Spain, Sweden, South Africa and the Netherlands. Nine US states and Washington DC have also legalised same-sex marriage and British lawmakers have recently voted for marriage equality in the UK. 
   
   The move is France’s biggest social reform since the abolition of the death penalty in 1981. Speaking after the vote, Justice Minister Christiane Taubira told journalists “We've waged a great and noble battle”. 
   
   Catholic opposition 
   
   The vote follows a lengthy and acrimonious parliamentary debate and the laborious processing of more than 5,000 amendments put forward by the conservative opposition. The amendments, filed in order to delay proceedings, saw some 100 hours of parliamentary debate, often continuing into the early hours of the morning. 
   
   The issue has proved to be hugely divisive in a country steeped in conservative Catholic values, despite its global reputation as a progressive nation. While some 51% of people support same-sex marriage, less than half agree with equal rights involving children. 
   
   Legislators were forced to postpone plans to allow lesbians access to medically assisted procreation – something which is already available to heterosexual couples unable to conceive. A separate law on the issue will be debated later in the year. 
   
   The debate sparked some of the country’s largest protests in decades, with around 340,000 turning out in Paris on January 14 to protest the reform. The anti-gay marriage camp, largely driven by the Catholic Church, has accused President Hollande of pushing through legislation without proper consultation. It has promised to stage a new rally on March 24.
target: – Same-sex marriage is now just one step away from being legal in France. The country's lower house of parliament today voted 329 to 229 to approve a controversial bill that would redefine a marriage as a contract between two people, without reference to gender, allowing gay and lesbian couples to both get married and adopt children, France 24 reports. The bill faced fierce opposition from France's Catholics, and from conservative lawmakers, who introduced more than 5,000 amendments to delay its passage. But now the bill needs only to clear the senate to become law, according to CNN. The vote comes as a similar bill is working its way through the UK parliament.