Recent events in the United Kingdom and France have expanded the rights of same-sex couples in the western world. Within two days of each other, governments in both London and Paris voted overwhelmingly to pass a bill allowing the marriage of same-sex couples. Despite this similarity, there is a dramatic difference between the public reactions in the two neighboring countries. On the eve of the vote in London, there was little public opposition to the bill. In Paris, however, hundreds of thousands of people — spurred on by the conservative voices within the country — converged on the city in opposition to the bill. The discrepancy reflects a fundamental difference in conservative attitudes toward homosexuals in these countries.

Conservative parties have a history of opposition toward gay rights. Nicolas Dhuicq, a member of the French conservative opposition Union for a Popular Movement, or U.M.P., stated late last year that not only are homosexual parents incapable of teaching their children what is right or wrong but that the children whom they raise are more likely to become terrorists. Although such slander thankfully does not reflect the consensus of the U.M.P., it does show the perceived incompatibility between conservatism and gay rights.

Same-sex marriage does, however, fit into the greater conservative ideology of social cohesion and stability, which treats the family as the bedrock of a functioning society. The U.K. government that passed same-sex marriage is conservative. In fact, Prime Minister David Cameron affirmed that he supports same-sex marriage because he is a conservative. The gap that nevertheless exists in the conservative ideology is the unfounded insistence that a family with homosexual parents is fundamentally different from a family with heterosexual parents. But the reality, however, is that the values conservatives find in the traditional family exist in a non-traditional family. Such an attitude should be adopted by France and, ultimately, the United States.

The debate over same-sex marriage has become trivial. Your rights as a human being should not be dictated by the person you love. Marriage is not necessarily a religious ceremony, but it is necessarily a civil one, and it affords married couples the civil necessities of a typical relationship. Rather than being radical opinions shouted across the political chambers of western countries, these notions are slowly becoming accepted truths. As both sides of the political spectrum prioritize the rights of their citizens, this debate no longer falls in line with or against a single political ideology. Gay rights are becoming both a liberal and a conservative pursuit.

A version of this article appeared in the Thursday, Feb. 14 print edition. Peter Keffer is a foreign correspondent. Email him at [email protected].