Gay Marriage

Canada seems to have gotten the ball rolling on gay marriage. Yesterday, the Canadian government legalized gay marriage. Today, Spain followed suit. Well that's not necessarily true, I'm sure Spain had this legislation in the pipeline for a while, but I have to think that Canada's passage of gay marriage had to be in the back of the Spanish MP's minds. Most First World countries are going to be moving in this direction in the next decade, so why not be a leader instead of a follower. It's clear that José Zapatero can sees that the ball is rolling down hill. From The Guardian:

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's ruling Socialist government proposed the bill shortly after winning the election last year. On the day he was confirmed as prime minister, Mr Zapatero said he would fight discrimination against homosexuals.

During the debate before today's historic vote, Mr Zapatero acknowledged Spain was joining the growing numbers of countries legalizing gay marriages.

"We are not the first, but I am sure we will not be the last," he told the chamber. "After us will come many countries, driven, ladies and gentlemen, by two unstoppable forces: freedom and equality."

This might sound a little crazy, but I actually believe that a slight tinge of anti-Americanism is also helping push this trend. A good deal of Europeans think of Americans as unsophisticated, so our overwhelming rejection of gay rights last year may be making some ripples across the pond that Europeans don't want to be associated with.