Bongo
31-12-2004, 00:24
Citaat:
Spain's Gov't Approves Gay Marriage Bill
Thursday, December 30, 2004
MADRID, Spain — Spain's Socialist government on Friday approved a bill to legalize same-sex marriages, putting this predominantly Roman Catholic (search) country on course to become only the third country to recognize gay marriages.
The bill was approved at a Cabinet meeting and is expected to be presented to Parliament (search) in February for debate.
"The right to marry is a right for everyone, without distinction. It cannot be understood as a privilege," Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega told a press conference after the Cabinet meeting. "The recognition of homosexuals' rights eradicates an unjustified discrimination."
Under the bill homosexuals will be allowed to adopt children and couples of the same sex will be able to inherit from one another as well as receive retirement benefits from their working spouses in the same way in which heterosexual married couples do now.
Since taking office in April, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero (search) has vowed to institute deep changes on social issues after eight years of conservative rule. On the day he was confirmed as prime minister, he vowed to Parliament to allow gay marriage and fight discrimination against homosexuals.
bronThursday, December 30, 2004
MADRID, Spain — Spain's Socialist government on Friday approved a bill to legalize same-sex marriages, putting this predominantly Roman Catholic (search) country on course to become only the third country to recognize gay marriages.
The bill was approved at a Cabinet meeting and is expected to be presented to Parliament (search) in February for debate.
"The right to marry is a right for everyone, without distinction. It cannot be understood as a privilege," Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega told a press conference after the Cabinet meeting. "The recognition of homosexuals' rights eradicates an unjustified discrimination."
Under the bill homosexuals will be allowed to adopt children and couples of the same sex will be able to inherit from one another as well as receive retirement benefits from their working spouses in the same way in which heterosexual married couples do now.
Since taking office in April, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero (search) has vowed to institute deep changes on social issues after eight years of conservative rule. On the day he was confirmed as prime minister, he vowed to Parliament to allow gay marriage and fight discrimination against homosexuals.