November 6, 2012
Top Spanish Court to Rule on Gay Marriage Law
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 1 MIN.
MADRID - Spain's Constitutional Court is expected to rule on an appeal against the country's gay marriage law, seven years after the legislation was approved.
The conservative Popular Party filed the appeal in 2005 on the grounds that "marriage" in the Spanish constitution meant the union of a man and a woman in matrimony.
A court spokesman said the tribunal will meet later Tuesday to study the appeal and is expected to vote.
Spain's Parliament passed the gay marriage bill in June 2005 when it was Socialist-controlled, with only Popular Party deputies opposing. The Popular Party has since come to power.
The law angered the predominant Roman Catholic Church but opinion surveys showed most Spaniards backed it. Spain was the world's third country to give full legal recognition to same sex marriages.
