Same-sex Marriage in Spain - Opposition Court Challenges

Opposition Court Challenges

On 21 July 2005, a judge from the city of Dénia refused to issue a marriage license to a lesbian couple. The judge also filed a constitutional challenge against the same-sex marriage law with the Constitutional Court based on Article 32 of the Constitution that contains the phrase "Men and women have the right to contract marriage with full juridical equality." In August 2005, a judge from Gran Canaria refused licenses to three same-sex couples and mounted another constitutional challenge. In December 2005, the Constitutional Court rejected both challenges owing to both judges' lack of standing to file them. On 30 September 2005, the opposition People's Party decided to initiate a separate constitutional challenge, causing division within the party. The outcome was published on November 6, 2012, seven years after the challenge was presented. The Court decided to uphold the same-sex marriage law with 8 support votes and 3 against.

On 27 February 2007 the Spanish Family Forum presented an initiative signed by 1.5 million people to legislate marriage as the union of a man and a woman only (thus effectively prohibiting same-sex marriage). The initiative was rejected by the Spanish Congress. On 30 May 2007, the aforementioned judge of Dénia was condemned by the Disciplinary Committee of the General Council of Judiciary Power (Comisión Disciplinaria del Consejo General del Poder Judicial -CGPJ-) to pay 305 euros for refusing to marry a gay couple and was also strictly warned against doing it again. She attributes this action to the "propagandistic machinery" of the government.