Gay marriage has finally been legalized in France after a long, hard, grueling battle. In the past few weeks, there have numerous, violent attacks on gay couples. It got so out of control that even legislators received threats — including Assembly president, Claude Bartelone, who received a gunpowder-filled envelope on Monday.

One of the biggest protests against same-sex marriage that we’ve ever seen gathered together hundreds of thousands of people from the French provinces, including conservative activists, schoolchildren (with their parents of course), priests, retirees and more. The protest ended in blasts of tear gas, as right-wing extremists (some even donning masks and hoods) charged the police, damaging cars along the Champs-Elysees Ave before attempting to get to the presidential palace.

Justice Minister Christiane Taubira told lawmakers that country’s first same-sex weddings could be as soon as June. Taubira said, “We believe that the first weddings will be beautiful and that they’ll bring a breeze of joy, and that those who are opposed to them today will surely be confounded when they are overcome with the happiness of the newlyweds and the families.”

On the cover of Tuesday’s Liberation newspaper in France, famed gay photographers Pierre and Gilles took over the front page (in addition to several on the inside), loading them up with extremely provocative photos, including one of three soccer players — completely nude except for their shoes — facing the camera. The issue will likely become a big piece of French history.

France is the 14th country to legalize gay marriage nationwide, and America is now in the hot seat. How did France legalize gay marriage before us? The ball is in our court now.