Same-sex marriage in Spain

In 2004, the new Socialist government of Spain began a process to legalise same-sex marriage in Spain. The proposed legislation would also legalise adoption by same-sex couples. It was passed by the Cortes on June 30, 2005 and officially published on July 2, 2005. Same-sex marriages will be allowed starting Sunday, July 3, 2005.

History

On June 30, 2004, Spanish minister of justice Juan Fernando López Aguilar announced that the Spanish Congress of Deputies had provisionally approved a government plan for legislation to extend the right to marriage to same-sex couples. This would fulfil a promise made by Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero the day of his inauguration.

At the same time, Minister López announced a proposition (introduced by the Convergència i Unió party) to introduce legal status for both opposite- and same-sex common-law unions (parejas de hecho, "de facto unions"), and another to permit transgendered people to legally change their name and sex designation without the requirement of surgery.

The bill on same-sex marriage was approved by the Cabinet on October 1, 2004. It was submitted to Parliament on December 31 [1] [2], and passed by the lower house on April 21, 2005 [3] [4]. However, the bill was rejected by the Senate on June 22, 2005. It then returned to the lower house, which has an override power at its disposal, and on June 30, 2005, the lower house gave final approval to the bill with 187 yes, 147 no and four abstentions.

With the final approval of the law on July 2 -- including royal assent and publication in the Boletín Oficial del Estado -- Spain became the third country in the world to formally legalize same-sex marriages nationwide, after the Netherlands and Belgium. For more information, read the main article about Same-sex marriage.

Reaction

The news is the result of long activism by Spanish non-heterosexual groups, such as the State Federation of Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, and Transsexuals (FELGT). A poll by Spain's Centre for Sociological Investigations published in July 2005 suggests that 66% of Spaniards are in favour of the measure. (Le Monde) Another poll taken by Instituto Opina/Cadena Ser a day before the bill passed puts support of the same-sex marriage at 62.1% and support of adoption by same-sex couples at 49.1%. [5][6] [7]

However, the news was met with concern by Catholic authorities, including Pope John Paul II, who feared a weakening of family values, and his successor Pope Benedict XVI. Prime Minister Zapatero has responded to these criticisms by saying:

These are decisions for freedom, to allow free people to choose freely. They are not meant to attack any moral position, since they belong to the civil realm, determined by the legitimate will of the majority of the citizens. ... Spain is a democracy whose sovereignty resides in the Parliament, which passes laws on social life. I deeply respect all citizens' religious convictions, and it's true that there are many Catholics in Spain. However, while respecting the best spirit of the Church's doctrine, we must make the difference between civil space and the intimate space of personal conviction. The worst occurs when the two are confused. (ABC.es)

Opponents to these measures often claim that the government has taken advantage of the majority agreement to legally equalize homosexual and heterosexual couples to try to weaken the meaning of matrimonio (marriage), traditionally defined as a couple of different sexes. Many also express concern over the possibility of gay couples adopting and bringing up children, and argue that adoption is not a right for the parents, but for the adopted.

Protestors against the measure claim to have rallied 1.5 million people against what they consider an unnecessary attack on the traditional family; official sources counted 160,000 at the same event.

Gay associations reply that adoption by homosexual couples has been existing de facto for a long time in Spain, since many gay couples are bringing up minors adopted by one of the members. Adoption by same-sex couples was already legal in Navarre, Aragon, the Basque Country, and Catalonia, even before the same-sex marriage law allowed these adoptions to be legal nationwide.

External links

• ABC (Madrid) (article in Spanish)
• Más información sobre la encuesta del CIS (article in Spanish)
• 365gay.com