Family group denounces failure of Spanish Parliament to defend marriage

Madrid, Spain, Mar 2, 2007 / 10:45 am

The president of the Institute for Family Policy in Catalonia, Liberto Senderos, expressed regret this week that Spain’s House of Representatives has rejected a petition by more than 1 million citizens to protect marriage as a union between one man and one woman through the reform of the Civil Code.

“Instead of listening to the voice of the citizens, the Spanish Parliament has given in to the interests of absolutely minority lobbyists and has not wanted to hear the cry of the people for the defense of marriage, which can only be understood as the union between one man and one woman,” Senderos said.

He said the petition organized by the Spanish Forum on the Family and was signed by more than 1,330,000 people. It was the largest signature-driven legislative proposal in the history of the country.

Senderos criticized lawmakers for not allowing members of his organization to speak in defense of the proposal during debate.  Representatives who voted against the measure, he said, preferred to keep a norm in place that is clearly unconstitutional and contrary to international treaties and declarations on human rights.

Likewise, he said that instead of approving “marriage” and adoption for same-sex couples, the Parliament should have supported a social policy truly beneficial to the family.