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Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Spain since 3 July 2005. In 2004, the nation's newly elected Socialist Party (PSOE) government, led by Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, began a campaign for its legalization, including the right of adoption by same-sex couples. After much debate, a law permitting same-sex marriage was passed by the ''Cortes Generales'' (Spain's bicameral parliament, composed of the Senate and the Congress of Deputies) on 30 June 2005 and published on 2 July 2005. The law took effect the next day, making Spain the third country in the world to allow same-sex couples to marry, after the Netherlands and Belgium, and 17 days ahead of Canada. The ratification of this law was not devoid of conflict, despite support from 66% of the population.〔 Roman Catholic authorities in particular were adamantly opposed, criticising what they regarded as the weakening of the meaning of marriage. Other associations expressed concern over the possibility of lesbians and gays adopting children. Demonstrations for and against the law drew thousands of people from all parts of Spain. After its approval, the conservative People's Party challenged the law in the Constitutional Court. Approximately 4,500 same-sex couples married in Spain during the first year of the law. Shortly after the law was passed, questions arose about the legal status of marriage to non-Spaniards whose country did not permit same-sex marriage. A ruling from the Justice Ministry stated that the country's same-sex marriage law allows a Spanish citizen to marry a non-Spaniard regardless of whether that person's homeland recognizes the partnership. At least one partner must be a Spanish citizen in order to marry, although two non-Spaniards may marry if they both have legal residence in Spain. The November 2011 general election delivered a landslide victory to the People's Party, whose leader Mariano Rajoy said that he opposed same-sex marriage, but any decision about repealing the law could be made only after the ruling of the Constitutional Court. On 6 November 2012, the law was upheld by the Court with 8 support votes and 3 against.〔(Same-sex marriage upheld by Spain's highest court )〕〔 (Amplio respaldo del Tribunal Constitucional al matrimonio homosexual )〕〔 (SENTENCIA )〕 Minister of Justice Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón announced that the government will abide the ruling and the law will not be repealed.〔 (Gallardón no tocará la ley vigente )〕〔 (Gallardón: El Gobierno "no modificará" la ley de matrimonio homosexual )〕〔 (El Gobierno mantendrá el matrimonio homosexual tal y como lo ha validado el TC )〕 ==History== During the 1990s and early 2000s, several city councils and autonomous communities had opened registers for civil unions that allowed benefits for unmarried couples of any sex, although the effect was mainly symbolic. Registries were created in 16 out of 17 of Spain's autonomous communities; Catalonia (1998), Aragon (1999), Navarre (2000), Castile-La Mancha (2000), Valencia (2001), Balearic Islands (2001), Madrid (2001), Asturias (2002), Andalusia (2002), Castile and León (2002), Extremadura (2003), Basque Country (2003), Canary Islands (2003), Cantabria (2005), Galicia (2008) and La Rioja (2010), and in both autonomous cities; Ceuta (1998) and Melilla (2008)〔(Same-sex couples in Spain. Historical, contextual and symbolic factors )〕〔 (Decreto 124/2000, de 11 de julio, por el que se regula la creación y el régimen de funcionamiento del Registro de parejas de hecho de la comunidad autónoma de Castilla-La Mancha )〕〔 (DECRETO 117/2002, de 24 de octubre, por el que se crea el Registro de Uniones de Hecho en Castilla y León y se regula su funcionamiento )〕〔 (Ley de la C.A. de Cantabria 1/2005, de 16 de mayo, de parejas de hecho de la Comunidad Autónoma de Cantabria )〕〔 (Ley 10/2007, de 28 de junio, de reforma de la disposición adicional tercera de la Ley 2/2006, de 14 de junio, de derecho civil de Galicia )〕〔 (Decreto 248/2007, de 20 de diciembre, por el que se crea y se regula el Registro de Parejas de Hecho de Galicia )〕〔 (Decreto 30/2010, de 14 de mayo, por el que se crea el Registro de Parejas de Hecho de La Rioja )〕〔(Reglamento regulador del Registro de Uniones de Hecho )〕〔(REGLAMENTO REGULADOR DEL REGISTRO DE PAREJAS DE HEC HO DE LA CIUDAD AUTÓNOMA DE MELILLA )〕 Spanish law already allowed single people to adopt children; thus, a same-sex couple could undertake a de facto adoption, but the partner who was not the legal parent had no rights if the relationship ended or the legal parent died.〔 Same-sex marriages were not legal in the autonomous communities, because the Spanish Constitution gives the State sole power to legislate marriage. The Socialist Party (PSOE) manifesto for the 2004 general election included the pledge of amending the Civil Code to legalize same-sex marriage, granting it the same status as heterosexual marriage in order to "ensure full social and legal equality for lesbians and gays". After the socialists' victory in the election, the new Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero promised at his inauguration address to bring this change forward: "The moment has finally arrived to end once and for all the intolerable discrimination which many Spaniards suffer because of their sexual preferences. (...) As a result, we will modify the Civil Code to recognize their equal right to marriage with the resulting effects over inheritance, labor rights and social security protection".〔 On 30 June 2004, the then Minister of Justice Juan Fernando López Aguilar announced that the Congress of Deputies had provisionally approved a government plan for legislation to extend the right of marriage to same-sex couples. López Aguilar also announced two propositions, introduced by the regional Convergence and Union party of Catalonia: one introduced legal status for both opposite- and same-sex common-law unions (''parejas de hecho'', "de facto unions"), while the other permitted transgender people to legally change their name and sex designation without the requirement of surgery. The bill regarding same-sex marriage was approved by the Cabinet on 1 October 2004, submitted to Parliament on 31 December, and passed by the Congress of Deputies on 21 April 2005. However, it was rejected on 22 June 2005 by the Senate, where the opposition People's Party held a plurality of the seats. The bill was returned to the lower house, which holds the power to override the Senate, and final approval was given to the bill on 30 June 2005 with 187 "yes" votes, 147 "no" votes, and 4 abstentions. With the final approval, and enactment of the bill on 2 July 2005, Spain became the third country in the world to formally legalize same-sex marriages nationwide, after the Netherlands and Belgium. The first same-sex wedding took place eight days after the bill became law, and was celebrated in the council chamber in the Madrid suburb of Tres Cantos by Carlos Baturín and Emilio Menéndez. The first same-sex marriage between women took place in Barcelona eleven days later. In spite of these steps toward equal treatment, a legal flaw remained: if children were born within a lesbian marriage, the non-biological mother was not legally regarded as a parent; she still had to undergo the lengthy financial process of adoption. This right was granted to heterosexual couples (married or not), where a stepfather could declare his wife's children to be his without further process. On 7 November 2006, the government amended the law on assisted reproduction, allowing the non-biological mother to be regarded as a parent alongside her female spouse who is the birth-mother. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Same-sex marriage in Spain」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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