Same-sex marriage in Spain
| Same-sex marriage |
| Recognised nationwide in: |
| Belgium |
| Netherlands |
| Recognised in some regions in: |
| Canada (Ont, Que, B.C, Y.T) |
| United States (Massachusetts) |
| Other countries: |
| Australia |
| France |
| South Africa |
| Spain |
| See also |
| Civil union |
| Domestic partnership |
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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 bill would be presented to Parliament in September 2004 and could become law by January 2005.
This would fulfil a promise made by Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero the day of his inauguration.
The news is the fruit of long activism by Spanish gay and lesbian groups such as the State Federation of Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, and Transsexuals (FELGT).
However, the news was met with concern by Catholic authorities, including Pope John Paul II, who feared a weakening of family values.
At the same time, Minister López announced a proposition (introduced by the Convergčncia 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.