Thursday, October 24, 2002
Belgium moves towards accepting same-sex weddings
A story released today by Reuters reports that Belgium moved a step closer towards becoming the second country to allow same-sex marriages after the Netherlands.
The Senate's Justice Commission voted 11-4 in favor of a bill that would effectively give same-sex couples the same legal status as heterosexual ones.
The draft law has to be passed by the upper and lower chambers of parliament before it becomes law.
Three parties opposed the bill -- the Francophone Liberals, the Vlaams Blok and the Francophone Christian Democrats.
Belgium, whose population of 10 million is 75 percent Roman Catholic, has increasingly broken from its conservative traditions.
Although the Netherlands has recognized registered same-sex partnerships since 1998, it only passed laws allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt children in December 2000.
