Cabinet adopts gay ‘marriage’

MADRID (AP) — Despite vociferous opposition from the Roman Catholic Church, Spain’s Cabinet approved legislation yesterday giving homosexuals the right to “marry” and adopt children.

Parliament was expected to review and approve the legislation promptly. That would make Spain the third nation in Europe to legalize homosexual “marriage.”

“This proposed law … removes a centuries-old barrier,” Justice Minister Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar said at Moncloa, the prime minister’s office and residence and site of the weekly Cabinet meetings.

The proposed legislation has been endorsed by the ruling socialist party, which ousted the conservative Popular Party in elections in March and comprises the biggest bloc in Parliament.

If Parliament passes the legislation, Spain would join Belgium and the Netherlands in legalizing homosexual “marriage.”