Spain approves gay marriage law

Spain legalised same-sex marriages yesterday, becoming only the fourth country to do so after Belgium, Canada and the Netherlands and dealing a blow to the Catholic Church in a traditional stronghold.

"Today Spanish society is giving an answer to a group of people who for years have been humiliated, whose rights have been ignored, whose dignity has been offended...," Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told Parliament.

Supporters jumped to their feet to celebrate in a crowded public gallery when the lower house of Parliament passed the law, overriding a rejection in the upper house or Senate.

Outside, dozens of same-sex couples hugged and kissed, some of them in tears. The law gives same-sex unions the same status as heterosexual ones, including adoption and inheritance rights. The Socialists' liberal agenda is a major break with the past: Spain was ruled from 1939-1975 by Catholic nationalist dictator Francisco Franco who banned homosexuality and divorce.