Gay Marriage Debates in France and the U.S. - event at Columbia University's Maison Francaise

This looks like a really interesting event and may be of interest to anyone comparing France and the US. 

Monday, April 1, 6-8 p.m.

Gay Marriage Debates in France and the U.S. 

Éric Fassin and Mary Anne Case

A proposed law in France to allow gay couples to marry and adopt children has prompted mass demonstrations for and against "le mariage pour tous" and vigorous discussions in the French news media and in Parliament. In the U.S., 9 states and Washington DC have by now legalized same-sex marriage, and this term, the Supreme Court is considering two cases that may prove momentous. On the anniversary of the passage of the first same-sex marriage law (the Netherlands, April 1, 2001), leading experts compare French and American legal approaches and social debates around gay marriage.

Éric Fassin is a sociologist at Paris 8 University. His work focuses on sexual and racial politics from a comparative perspective. Mary Anne Case is Arnold I. Shure Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School. Her work to date has focused on a feminist, constitutional, comparative and historical perspective on the regulation of sex, gender, sexuality and the family.