Spain gives approval to gay unions - The New York Times


Spain became the third country to legalize same-sex marriage, granting same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples.
AI Summary available — skim the key points instantly. Show AI Generated Summary
Show AI Generated Summary

MADRID — The Spanish Parliament gave final approval Thursday to a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, making Spain the third country to legalize gay marriage, after the Netherlands and Belgium.

The measure, passed by a vote of 187 to 147 with 4 abstentions, says that couples will have the same rights, including the freedom to marry and to adopt children, regardless of gender.

On Tuesday, Canada's House of Commons passed legislation legalizing gay marriage, and the bill is expected to pass easily in the Senate and become federal law by the end of July. Spain and Canada will then be the only nations to eliminate all legal distinctions between same-sex and heterosexual unions, according to supporters of the bill.

Spain' law will go into effect immediately after it is published in Parliament's official bulletin, probably within a couple of days.

Only Canada's legislation contains language as liberal as Spain's, according to gay marriage advocates.

The strength of the Spanish measure, these advocates say, is that it simply 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."

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

Was this article displayed correctly? Not happy with what you see?

Tabs Reminder: Tabs piling up in your browser? Set a reminder for them, close them and get notified at the right time.

Try our Chrome extension today!


Share this article with your
friends and colleagues.
Earn points from views and
referrals who sign up.
Learn more

Facebook

Save articles to reading lists
and access them on any device


Share this article with your
friends and colleagues.
Earn points from views and
referrals who sign up.
Learn more

Facebook

Save articles to reading lists
and access them on any device