Spanish parliament passes gay marriage bill; Last Updated Thu, 30 Jun 2005 08:29:00 EDT ; CBC News

Just two days after Canadian members of Parliament passed same-sex marriage legislation, Spanish lawmakers have voted to allow gays and lesbians to legally marry.

The vote in the 350-seat Congress of Deputies was 187 in favour, 147 against and four abstentions. The Conservative-dominated Senate had rejected the bill. But it is an advisory board and final say rests with the Congress. The law would make Spain only the fourth country in the world to officially recognize same-sex marriage. The Netherlands and Belgium approved same-sex marriages in 2000 and 2003.

"We were not the first, but I am sure we will not be the last," Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told the chamber. "After us will come many other countries, driven, ladies and gentlemen, by two unstoppable forces: freedom and equality."

Zapatero's Socialist government proposed the legislation shortly after winning the 2004 elections. Spanish gay couples can get married as soon as the law is published in the official government registry, which could come as early as Friday, or within two weeks at the latest, the parliament's press office said.

The legislation has been opposed by Conservative legislators and the Roman Catholic Church. In a rare step, the church endorsed a rally in which hundreds of thousands marched through Madrid in opposition to the bill. Some 20 bishops took part in the June 18 rally.