(Newser)
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France's top ministers have given the nod of approval to the country's rather suddenly contested gay-marriage and adoption-rights bill, reports CNN. President Francois Hollande's Cabinet today pushed the bill forward, sending it to the National Assembly and Senate, which are expected to vote on it in February or March. Religious and conservative groups strongly oppose the bill, but gay-marriage advocates have called for a rally in Paris tonight to show support for it. (Closer to home, Maine and Maryland yesterday became the first US states to approve same-sex marriage in a popular vote.)
