The first gay & lesbian couples to tie the knot in terms of Spain's same s0x marriage law did so five years ago. If this were their fiftieth wedding anniversary, they could look forward to public celebrations and the traditional golden gifts for a golden anniversary. Instead, for just the fiffh anniversary, celebrations are likely to be more private, and the gifts (if there are any) are traditionally of wood. In the public sphere however, the country's LGBT community deserves to celebrate this minor landmark. When Spain's law took effect, they joined the Netherlands and Belgium as the only three European countries to provide full marriage equality. Today, the number of European countries in the club has more than doubled (seven) with more on the way.
Spain's gay marriage law turned five on July 3. Passage of the law in the Roman Catholic nation turned Spain into a gay rights leader. Since then, 10,317 male couples and 5,063 female couples have married, 1.55% of the nation's total marriages, Madrid-based daily El Pais reported.
The Socialist government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero approved the law over the objections of the Catholic Church. Pope Benedict has called on Spanish Catholics to reject gay marriage.
In 2005, only three nations – the Netherlands, Canada and Belgium – had legalized gay marriage. Five years later, Sweden, Iceland, South Africa, and Portugal have joined in.
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