( CNN ) -- French lawmakers voted to legalize same-sex marriage Tuesday , despite vocal protests from some conservatives opposed to the step . The nation 's lower house approved a marriage bill , which would also give same-sex couples the right to adopt , in a 331-to-225 final vote . They cast their votes after impassioned speeches by lawmakers for and against the legislation . President Francois Hollande , who pledged his support for same-sex marriage on the campaign trail last year , will have to sign the bill before it becomes law . After Tuesday 's lower house vote , a group of senators filed a legal challenge with the country 's Constitutional Council , according to a statement published on the UMP conservative opposition party 's senate website . The court has a month to rule on the challenge filed by conservative and centrist senators . iReport : Pro-gay marriage demonstrators hail lawmakers ' move . The measure had been expected to pass Tuesday since the left , which includes Hollande 's governing Socialist Party , dominates the National Assembly , or lower house . The legislation was approved in the Senate earlier this month . If the measure is enacted , France would be the ninth country in Europe to allow same-sex marriage . Protesters on Sunday joined the latest in a series of marches through Paris against the measure , and they have vowed to carry on the fight . One of the groups behind the marchers urged protesters to rally again Tuesday evening and is planning more demonstrations around the country next month . Policing has been stepped up in the streets around the lower house in case demonstrations by those for and against the bill become heated , CNN affiliate BFM-TV reported . In France , the contentious debate over the same-sex marriage bill has coincided with a spike in reported incidents of homophobic abuse , the gay rights group SOS Homophobie told BFM-TV last week . A gay bar in Lille was targeted Wednesday night by four men who appeared to belong to a far-right group , Interior Minister Manuel Valls said Thursday , in a statement condemning the attack . Valls also condemned violence that broke out Thursday evening at a march against same-sex marriage , when `` organized groups '' refused to disperse and clashed with police . France is committed to upholding the right of all people to demonstrate peacefully , he said . International debate . Passage of the divisive bill will admit France to a small but growing club . Lawmakers in New Zealand last week made it the first country in the Asia Pacific region to legalize same-sex marriage . The law is set to be enacted later this year . Its move came a week after Uruguayan lawmakers approved a measure allowing same-sex marriage . The measure awaits the signature of Uruguay 's president , who has indicated he supports it . If the laws in New Zealand , Uruguay and France are enacted as expected , the count of nations allowing same-sex marriage will rise to 14 . The first same-sex couples walked down the aisle in the Netherlands in 2001 , with others following suit in Canada , South Africa , Belgium and Spain . Argentina was the first Latin American nation to legalize such marriages , in 2010 . Legislators in the United Kingdom are also weighing proposals to legalize same-sex marriage . However , many countries remain split over the issue . In the United States , the question went before the Supreme Court last month , and justices are now deliberating over the matter . Nine states and the District of Columbia issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples , including three states -- Maryland , Washington , and Maine -- where voters approved it in ballot initiatives last year . Many states have specific laws blocking same-sex couples from legally marrying . Lawmakers in Australia voted against a bill to legalize same-sex marriage last September . A poll for the advocacy group Australian Marriage Equality indicated that 64 % of those surveyed `` support marriage equality . '' A law legalizing civil unions was introduced in 1999 in France under a previous Socialist government . Known in France as the PACS , or pacte civil de solidarite , the civil union agreement can be entered into by same-sex or straight couples and confers many but not all of the rights of marriage . READ MORE : French Senate backs same-sex marriage bill . READ MORE : Same-sex marriage : Who will legalize it next ? READ MORE : Gay rights in France : How even U.S. leads way . READ MORE : Protesters rally against same-sex marriage in France . CNN 's Saskya Vandoorne contributed to this report .
NEW : Opponents of the measure file a challenge with the United States 's Constitutional Council . Constitutional Council approves a same-sex marriage bill by a four vote . The issue of same-sex marriage also polarizes the United States and other nations . Lawmakers in the United States and France are the latest to back same-sex marriage .