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Spain Legalizes Gay Marriage; Law Is Among the Most Liberal
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The Spanish Parliament voted Thursday to legalize gay marriage, giving final approval to a bill that would make Spain, a predominantly Catholic country, the first nation to eliminate all legal distinctions between same-sex and heterosexual unions, according to supporters of the measure. The bill, passed 187 to 147, says couples will have the same rights, including the freedom to marry and to adopt children, regardless of gender. Three other countries, the Netherlands, Belgium and Canada, have voted to legalize gay marriage. But only Canada’s laws, which do not yet apply to all of the country, contain language as liberal as Spain’s, according to advocates of the law. The Spanish measure merely adds one sentence to existing law: ‘’Marriage will have the same requirements and results when the two people entering into the contract are of the same sex or of different sexes.'’ The Dutch and Belgian laws, by contrast, create separate rights for same-sex couples that do not fully match those of heterosexuals on issues like adoption, advocates say. ‘’Spain is talking about total equality,'’ said Kursad Kahramanoglu, co-secretary general of the International Lesbian and Gay Association, which is based in Brussels. ‘’Lots of people 15 or 20 years ago would have thought it would be impossible for Catholic Spain to get to this moment,'’ he said. More : query.nytimes.com |
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