The Wisdom of Whores » Spain

Zapatero y Felipe: enhorabuena!

elizabeth — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:42:16 +0000

I’ve been slow to congratulate Jose Luis Zapatero on his success in Spain’s elections earlier this month. Zapatero has been a fierce defender of gay rights in the face of back-door action by the opposition to roll back gay marriage. For the Spanish speakers among you, this video reveals why.

Thanks to Texma for forwarding.

While we’re on the subject of gay-friendly Spain, check out the Axel Hotel. This stylish Barcelona hotel makes a point of not discriminating against clients on the basis of who they sleep with.
It’s tagline: Hetero Friendly.

Rebel mayor supports gays in Madrid

elizabeth — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 18:42:50 +0000

Spanish gay-bashing update: Hundreds of Spaniards protested outside the headquarters of the country’s (un)Popular Party today, demanding that the party leader Mariano Rajoy retract his opposition to adoption rights for gay couples. True to form, the Mayor of Madrd Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón stuck two fingers up at the PP, of which he’s a nominal member, and promised the city’s gay collective 74.000 euros worth of support.
Rumour has it that Ruiz-Gallardón is considering jumping ship and joining a new centrist party. But it would be shame, in a way. It is a joy to see someone with balls speak out for equality from within the PP.

Spain’s (un)Popular Party wants to roll back gay marriage

elizabeth — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 17:03:56 +0000

Spain’s gay community is up in arms. The right-wing Popular Party chief, Mariano Rajoy, told 20 Minutos newspaper that he would try to revoke the rights of gays to marry and adopt kids if his party wins national elections on March 9. The story made the front page of some of the popular Sundays.

Gays have been allowed to marry in Spain since 2005, and around 80,000 Spanish children live with two parents of the same sex (although at the moment, only one of the parents is allowed to adopt a child formally). In a bid to curry favour with a powerful Catholic church, the Popular Party immediately challenged the right to marry in the High Court, and the case is pending. But there’s nothing Popular about rolling back rights to gay marriage for most Spaniards. The Popular Party spokesman was quick to tell El Mundo newspaper that Rajoy was expressing a personal opinion, and that the party wouldn’t adopt any formal position until the High Court has ruled.

That wasn’t enough for Rajoy. Whatever the court says about marriage, he insisted, he would oppose adoption by gay couples. The worry, for me, is that Rajoy still seems to believe that political gay-bashing is a potential vote-winner in Europe. It is up to the Spanish electorate to prove him wrong.