Spain's highest court upheld the
country's gay marriage law on Tuesday, rejecting an appeal lodged by the
ruling People's Party seven years ago and confirming the legality of
same-sex unions.
By the end of last year, more than 21,000
same-sex couples had tied the knot since Spain became the fourth
country in the world to legalize gay marriage in July 2005.
Eight of the Constitutional Court's 11
judges voted in favor of the law, the court said in a statement, adding
that the full ruling will be published in the next few days.
Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon said the government would respect the decision and leave the law as it stands.
"We're very, very pleased and
particularly that the decision was 8-3 and not a close 6-5," Jesus
Generelo, general secretary of the National Federation of Lesbians,
Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals (FELGTB), said.
"I think it is clear that gay marriage is now a part of our society."
The law, introduced by the former
government of Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, was
challenged in court by the People's Party (PP).
Hundreds of thousands of people marched
in the streets during the Zapatero years against Socialist laws
permitting gay marriage and liberalizing abortion, but surveys have
shown a majority of Spaniards support allowing same-sex couples equal
marriage rights with heterosexual couples.
The Roman Catholic church also strongly
opposed the law and priests were active in calling on people to support
the anti-same-sex protests during the Zapatero years.
Conservative and Catholic groups
criticized Tuesday's court ruling. The Family Forum, which organized
protests against same-sex marriage, demanded the government repeal the
law.
"If the PP hides behind this sentence to
now accept the Zapatero law, it will be reneging on the public
commitments it made in 2004 and 2005 and failing to defend the ideas of
its core supporters in a politically cowardly way," it said.
Another conservative group, Hazteoir.org,
said: "Making marriage the same as other types of union is a direct
attack on the Spanish family".
"This equal status, as well as the
promotion of divorce, will cause damage to society in the short-term,"
the group's head, Ignacio Arsuaga, said.
PIONEERING LAW
Spain's law was seen as pioneering by gay
rights campaigners since it gave same-sex couples the same rights as
heterosexuals, including the option of adopting children.
Many analysts thought it would be
difficult for the government of conservative Mariano Rajoy to reverse
the law, which would have left gay families in legal limbo.
Although some PP mayors have defied the
law, refusing to marry gay couples, others support it, including Justice
Minister Gallardon when he served as mayor of Madrid.