Gay couples win right to marry in Spain despite opposition

Guests in the public gallery and crowds gathered outside cheered, applauded and embraced each other when the bill was passed. MPs voted for the reform by 187 to 147, with four abstentions, fulfilling an election promise by the ruling Socialists. Spain now joins Belgium, the Netherlands and Canada in allowing homosexuals to marry. Spanish gay couples will be allowed to adopt, and enjoy pension and inheritance rights.

"This is the happiest day of my life," said Manuel Fernandez, 36, a lawyer in the crowd. "It's given equality to a group that's been discriminated against for centuries. Thirty years ago, gays were jailed. This is a miracle."

Mr Fernandez planned to marry his partner of nine years, but added that homophobia was still widespread. "We must campaign now to convince everyone that the reform is just."

Earlier this month, Catholic bishops mobilised a huge demonstration against the bill, and yesterday handed in a petition of protest with 600,000 signatures. Clerics condemned the law as "unnatural" and a threat to the institution of marriage, and had demanded the proposal go to a referendum.

The Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, insisted in yesterday's debate that the law did not threaten anyone's rights, but merely extended the rights of those who had long been humiliated. "We are not the first and ... will not be the last. After us will come many countries motivated by the two unstoppable forces of freedom and equality," Mr Zapatero said.

Conscious that many Spaniards objected, Mr Zapatero added that everyone's views had to be respected, "even those who disagree". The law permits officials to opt out of conducting same-sex marriages on grounds of conscience, but they must appoint a replacement.

"This is a historic moment, the triumph of justice and common sense," said Pedro Zerolo, Socialist councillor for Madrid and longtime gay-rights campaigner. "I'm going to get married to my partner, Jesus, as soon as the law comes into effect, for love and militancy."

A short walk from the parliament, Madrid's gay neighbourhood of Chueca was decked with multicoloured bunting. Silken rainbow-striped flags fluttered from wrought-iron balconies. By lunchtime, stacks of beer barrels were positioned on every street corner in preparation for a night of celebration. Madrid's gay pride festivities – among the biggest and most boisterous of the fiesta calendar – have been gathering force since Wednesday. Last night's party heralds tomorrow's march through the heart of the capital, expected to attract a million supporters.

Mariano Rajoy, leader of the opposition Popular Party, was considering appealing to the constitutional court against the law. The government feels it is on firm ground: Spain's post-Franco democratic constitution of 1978 says "a man and a woman have the right to marry with full juridical equality", without stipulating that they must marry each other. The new law adds one sentence: "Marriage will have the same requisites and effects whether those getting married are of the same or different sex."