Status of same-sex marriage which includes same-sex marriage and same-sex adoption. The bill was approved by parliament, but rejected by voters in a 2015 referendum. On 24 February 2017, a new law came into effect which gives same-sex partnerships all the legal rights of marriages, with the exception of adoption and in-vitro fertilisation. Spain became the third country in the world (after the Netherlands and Belgium) to legalize same-sex marriage. After being elected in June 2004, Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero restated his pre-election pledge to push for legalization of same-sex marriage. On 1 October 2004, the Spanish Government approved a bill
Mariano Fernández Bermejo department for suits in Madrid. He is a founding member of the Progressive Union of Public Prosecutors. Bermejo is a member of the Socialist Party. He was appointed justice minister to the cabinet led by prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in a reshuffle on 12 February 2007. He succeeded Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar as justice minister. Bermejo retained his post in a May 2008 reshuffle. He resigned from office on 24 February 2009 due to his alleged intervention to a corruption investigation about a member of the People's Party. Bermejo was replaced by Francisco Caamaño Domínguez in the post.