Let people vote on gay marriage, says Spanish Catholic group

Published: 2005-07-01

BARCELONA, Spain (CNS) -- Following the Spanish Parliament's approval of a bill allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt children, a major Catholic organization demanded that the government let the Spanish people vote on the matter. The bill cleared its last legislative hurdle June 30, when lawmakers passed it into law in a 187-147 vote. The new law makes traditionally Catholic Spain the third country to legalize gay marriage after the Netherlands and Belgium. On June 28, Canada's Parliament approved a same-sex marriage bill, which the Canadian Senate is expected to pass into law quickly. Benigno Blanco, a founding member of the Spanish Forum for the Family, told Catholic News Service that the group will continue to put pressure on the government to hold a referendum.

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