Spain Legalizes Same-Sex Marriages

Jun 30, 6:38 AM (ET)

By MAR ROMAN

MADRID, Spain (AP) - Parliament legalized gay marriage Thursday, defying conservatives and clergy who opposed making traditionally Roman Catholic Spain the third country to allow same-sex unions nationwide. Jubilant gay activists blew kisses to lawmakers after the vote.
The measure passed the 350-seat Congress of Deputies by a vote of 187 to 147. The bill, part of the ruling Socialists' aggressive agenda for social reform, also lets gay couples adopt children and inherit each others' property.
The bill is now law. The Senate, where conservatives hold the largest number of seats, rejected the bill last week. But it is an advisory body and final say on legislation rests with the Congress of Deputies.
After the final tally was announced, gay and lesbian activists watching from the spectator section of the ornate chamber cried, cheered, hugged, waved to lawmakers and blew them kisses.

Several members of the conservative opposition Popular Party, which was vehemently opposed to the bill, shouted: "This is a disgrace." Those in favor stood and clapped.
The Netherlands and Belgium are the only other two countries that allow gay marriage nationwide. Canada's House of Commons passed legislation Tuesday that would legalize gay marriage; its Senate is expected to pass the bill into law by the end of July.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero noted this in debate before the vote.
"We were not the first, but I am sure we will not be the last. After us will come many other countries, driven, ladies and gentlemen, by two unstoppable forces: freedom and equality," he told the chamber.
Zapatero said the reform of Spanish legal code simply adds one dry paragraph of legalese but means much more.

He called it "a small change in wording that means an immense change in the lives of thousands of citizens. We are not legislating, ladies and gentlemen, for remote unknown people. We are expanding opportunities for the happiness of our neighbors, our work colleagues, our friends, our relatives."
Zapatero lacks a majority in the chamber but got help from small regional-based parties that tend to be his allies.
Spanish gay couples can get married as soon as the law is published in the official government registry. This could come as early as Friday, or within two weeks at the latest, parliament's press office said.
Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy said after the vote that Zapatero has deeply divided Spain and should have sought a consensus in parliament that recognized same-sex unions but didn't call them marriage. Rajor said that if the vast majority of countries in the world don't accept gay marriage, including some run by Socialists, there must be a reason.
"I think the prime minister has committed a grave act of irresponsibility," Rajor told reporters.

Beatriz Gimeno, a longtime leader of the gay rights movement in Spain, held back tears as she hugged her partner Boti after the vote.
"It is a historic day for the world's homosexuals. We have been fighting for many years," Gimeno said. "Now comes the hardest part, which is changing society's mentality."
The gay marriage bill was the boldest and most divisive initiative of the liberal social agenda Zapatero has embarked on since taking office in April 2004. Parliament overhauled Spain's 25-year-old divorce law on Wednesday, also irking the church, by letting couples end their marriage without a mandatory separation or having to state a reason for the split-up, as required under the old law.
He has also pushed through legislation allowing stem-cell research and wants to loosen Spain's restrictive abortion law.
The Roman Catholic Church, which held much sway over the government just a generation ago when Gen. Francisco Franco was in power, had adamantly opposed gay marriage. In its first display of anti-government activism in 20 years, it endorsed a June 18 rally in which hundreds of thousands marched through Madrid in opposition to the bill. Some 20 bishops took part in the June 18 rally.
On Wednesday, a Catholic lay group called the Spanish Family Forum presented lawmakers with a petition bearing 600,000 signatures as a last-minute protest.
Late last year, the spokesman for the Spanish Bishops Conference, Antonio Martinez Camino said that allowing gay marriage was like "imposing a virus on society - something false that will have negative consequences for social life."
Despite the street protests in Madrid and elsewhere and the petition drive, polls suggest Spaniards supported gay marriage.
A survey released in May by pollster Instituto Opina said 62 percent of Spaniards support the government's action on this issue, and 30 percent oppose it. The poll had a margin of error of 3 percentage points. But surveys show Spaniards about evenly split over whether gay couples should be allowed to adopt children.

Imaginary Tears

Why?

Woke up that morning, refreshed head, revived soul...newborn mind. That day it began, yesterday it end.

The air smells sweet and beautiful, the ground feels solid, and quite secure.

Rain falls full of sound and measure. Each day, seemlessly blended to one.

Eyes close slowly, images of yesterday and tomorrow race in vivid color again tainting the newborn mind. Memories mixed with images of years down the road.

Say hello, wave goodbye on my mind. No matter how sure, uncertainty always, overpowering. Good lessons, mixed with bad, drowing.

I love you, you big GAY boy's & girl's!

Happy Pride Everyone

In Spirit, I am proud everyday...of who I see in the mirror, as well as all those faces I see either in person or in my head each day...

Cheers to another year of strength, happiness, and being who you are inside...no matter what

I have so much love for you all

June may be Pride Month, try to remember to show me your Pride during the 11 other months of the year..

xo

Bryan Thumbs Up

Bryan Thumbs Up
Originally uploaded by bfreedmb.

Here I sit, day in and out...no connection with the outside world, watching the world go by through my TV set.

It is amazing how your life, mood, everything can be altered when you are in an ill state. I wish it were just the flu, I wish the end of this suffering had a date. I wish I could go outside and play.

Until then I carry my ppositive attitude around in my back pocket. Hopefully I will soon be at the very least 87 percent.

(did I mention how sad I am that I am missing out on pride weekend in NYC...i complain about that atleast every 4 to 5 seconds....)

Bryan van

Bryan van
Originally uploaded by bfreedmb.

i wish that everyone could see me at that moment of "when no one is looking"

life is crazy like that when we walk and talk slightly different, with all those we encounter in life. You know you have those true friends when you can simply be, who you are, nevertheless, as if no one is looking.

I love the moments in life when I realize I am with those in my life when I can just be Bryan...I smile before, during and after, and I love it.

life is that amusement park ride that we pay for, only, not with money, rather experiences. We learn in happiness, and sadness. We learn with pain, and heartache, joy and overwhelming love. The price, balanced, inbetween.

smile with your tears

love you all, definitely mean it..!

See what I did

Winder4
Originally uploaded by bfreedmb.

So, since i have been unemployed, I found a new way to keep myself busy. I have been working at The Flower Zone in lovely Westfield, NJ

www.theflowerzone.net

So I wanted to share with everyone a lovely creation by Bryan. This is the window that I designed for "Prom2005" From the dress to the feathers, i did it all, with the brain that my momma gave me. This is a shot from inside the shop, i had troubles taking one from outside, as this place gets a lot of sun.

Isn't it wonderous...?

Tell me what you think

ciao