Way to Go, Spain!
October 1, 2004 | 
News Reports
Although Spain is a traditionally Catholic country, there has been growing support there for a new bill that will allow gay and lesbian couples to marry, divorce, and adopt children. In 1975, dictator Francisco Franco made homosexuality illegal, but less than 30 years later Spain is preparing to join the Netherlands and Belgium in allowing gay marriage. The Vatican has expressed outrage at the legislation, which is now headed for Parliament, but the population is becoming more liberal and is accepting of the proposed law.
Some precisions on Spain, accidentally the country where I live:
- Homosexuality was outlawed in Spain *until* 1975, the year the moustache-bearing, fag-hating fascist bastard named Francisco Franco Bahamonde horribly died from lung failure.
- Spain is very often seen as a “catholic” country from outside. Nothing is farther away from the truth. Religious culture is intermingled with many aspects of spanish society, that may be true, but after 40 years of catholicism being the official state religion (under Francisco Franco’s regime, no less) catholicism is now more seen as a folkcloric thing, and not really in the mind and souls of people. Mind you, pornography at newsstands, morning-after-pill on social security, one of the most liberal abortion legislations in the world and countless fag and lez places and organizations have gone public and are thriving well.
- I think you’ll find few countries around the world where (at least in the big cities) the GLBT community is so at ease as in Spain. I’d say in Europe it is definitely second only to cities of the class of Amsterdam, Berlin and Cologne (Köln) in this respect.
I think the current law only formalizes the big social acceptance gays have since gained in Spain. It was a logical step once we could get rid of Aznar’s right-wing governement.
October 9th, 2004 at 1:18 pm