European Parliament backs gay marriage

In issuing its annual report on human rights issues to the European Union on Thursday, the European Parliament recommended that gay men and lesbians be allowed to legally marry and adopt children, Agence France-Presse reports. The report, which was adopted against the wishes of the main parliamentary group, the conservative European People's Party, also said that overall the human rights situation across the 15-member European Union had deteriorated in 2002. It urged the EU to abolish all forms of discrimination, either legislative or de facto, against gay men and lesbians, notably in preventing them from marrying and adopting children.