Where Europe stands on gay marriage and civil unns | Pew Rearch Center

Contents:

• SPA LEGALIZ GAY MARRIAGE; LAW IS AMONG THE MOST LIBERAL
• LOVE AND THE STATE: GAY MARRIAGE SPA
• GAY MARRIAGE
• WHERE EUROPE STANDS ON GAY MARRIAGE AND CIVIL UNNS

SPA LEGALIZ GAY MARRIAGE; LAW IS AMONG THE MOST LIBERAL

World|Spa Legaliz Gay Marriage; Law Is Among the Most Liberal ADVERTISEMENTJuly 1, 2005MADRID, June 30 - The Spanish Parliament voted Thursday to legalize gay marriage, givg fal approval to a bill that would make Spa, a predomantly Catholic untry, the first natn to elimate all legal distctns between same-sex and heterosexual unns, acrdg to supporters of the bill, passed 187 to 147, says upl will have the same rights, cludg the eedom to marry and to adopt children, regardls of other untri, the Netherlands, Belgium and Canada, have voted to legalize gay marriage.

"Spa is talkg about total equaly, " said Kursad Kahramanoglu, -secretary general of the Internatnal Lbian and Gay Associatn, which is based Bssels. "Polls show that 55 to 65 percent of Spaniards support gay marriage.

A versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn A, Page 9 of the Natnal edn wh the headle: Spa Legaliz Gay Marriage; Law Is Among the Most Liberal. By the 1960’s, Spanish society had adopted the distctn between “homosexual or heterosexual.

LOVE AND THE STATE: GAY MARRIAGE SPA

Still, the polil, social, and legal landspe for gays and lbians Spa the 1960’s and 70’s was nsirably more opprsive than the U. Same-sex sexual nduct was prohibed by law unr the 1954 Ley vagos y maleant, which clared homosexuals as dangero to society.

The Ley peligrosidad y rehabilación social, or Law of Social Danger and Rehabilatn (LPRS), enacted 1970, thorized the imprisonment of homosexuals. Public sentiment also nmned homosexual nduct. Acrdg to a poll nducted 1975, a majory of Spaniards wanted to “make homosexualy disappear” (Platero, 2007).

Gay male activism began the early 1970’s wh the Movimiento Español Liberación Homosexual (MELH) or Spanish Movement for Homosexual Liberatn, but was only after the ath of Fran 1975 that the gay liberatn movement beme visible to the public. The first gay pri para Spa took place Barcelona 1977 and more than 5, 000 people participated, spe severe police reprsn that clud firg bber bullets to the crowd.

GAY MARRIAGE

” The explic ban on homosexual nduct LPRS was repealed 1979. This perd was marked by the legalizatn of abortn, ntraceptn, and divorce the mid-1980’s, as well as the fal repeal of laws ed to persecute gays unr a prohibn of “public sndal” 1988. Durg the mid-1980’s, the AIDS epimic or “pk ncer” entered the Spanish nscns, brgg gay issu to the mastream and strengtheng the polil will of gays and lbians.

On a regnal and natnal level, GLBT anizatns and the polil parti of the Left worked together toward securg rights for gays and lbians hog, employment, and relatnship regnn the form of parejas hecho, or registered partnerships.

WHERE EUROPE STANDS ON GAY MARRIAGE AND CIVIL UNNS

” The associatn of homosexualy wh morny Spa helped the GLBT rights agenda bee part of the untry’s efforts to publicly embrace mocracy and dividual liberty through full participatn the European Unn. The uny of GLBT anizatns meant that activists uld credibly threaten to drive voters away om (or toward) dividual ndidat based on their posn on gay issu.

Employment, hog, and crimal protectns were embraced by the Spanish Left the early 90’s, when gay rights was still a wedge issue for the Left the U. The Feración Estatal Lbianas, Gays, Transexual y Bisexual (felgt) was formed the late 1990’s. Addrs at Faias diversas: Lbianas, Gays, Transexual y Bisexual creando faias.