GAY MARRIAGE ADVANCES IN SPAIN

[trilingual]

The lower house of the Spanish parliament approved same-sex civil marriage today. The proposal now goes to the Senate, where it is expected to be approved given the strong support the ruling party has there. Final approval is expected in a few weeks and the first marriages will probably take place in June.

 

Same-sex marriage in Spain will be exactly the same as for opposite sex couples. The legislation amends the marriage provisions of the Civil Code, changing words like "husband" and "wife" to neutral ones like "spouses" or "parties." That means there will be no distinctions in the rights and obligations of the partners, whether gay or straight, and gay couples will be able to adopt children jointly. As far as I've seen in the news reports, there will be no special restrictions on the marriage of foreigners in Spain, so it should be possible for non-residents or non-citizens to marry there (unlike Holland and Belgium which currently have residence restrictions).

 

Stay tuned. Before you know it, gay marriage will be completely legal in the heartland of the Inquisition, Francisco Franco and Opus Dei!!! Just when things look totally bleak, a ray of sunshine breaks through! And once Spain becomes the first "big" traditionally Catholic nation to permit gay marriage, others may follow. Civil union legislation has been pending for a long time in Brazil, and there are cases working their way through the courts there seeking to have the existing ban on same-sex marriages ruled unconstitutional. There are also possibilities of changes in the laws in Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. That'll add pressure on the U.S. when so many "conservative" Catholic countries have approved it, without the sky falling in or a rain of molten fire descending on them, not to mention nobody getting turned into a pillar of salt!!!