Spain makes gay marriage legal

Spain's parliament has given final approval to a law allowing same-sex marriages despite fierce opposition from the Catholic Church.
It gives homosexual couples the same legal status as heterosexual ones, including inheritance rights, pensions and adoption.
The legislation was rejected by Spain's Upper House, the Senate, last week but lawmakers managed to push it through today - to applause in the packed public gallery.
Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said the law set a positive example.
"Other societies could make things better for themselves, they could push back the barriers of tolerance and lessen humiliation and sadness," he said.
Polls suggest some 70 per cent of Spaniards back the move although thousands joined a recent rally against the bill.
A religious group presented MPs with a 600,000-signature petition opposing the legislation.
Some of the country's local mayors have said they will not officiate at gay marriages.
Spain is the fourth country to legalise same-sex marriages after Canada, Belgium and Holland.