 Same @-@ sex marriage has been legally recognized in Spain since 3 July 2005 . In 2004 , the nation 's newly elected Socialist Party ( PSOE ) government , led by Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero , began a campaign for its legalization , including the right of adoption by same @-@ sex couples . After much debate , a law permitting same @-@ sex marriage was passed by the Cortes Generales ( Spain 's bicameral parliament , composed of the Senate and the Congress of Deputies ) on 30 June 2005 and published on 2 July 2005 . The law took effect the next day , making Spain the third country in the world to allow same @-@ sex couples to marry across the entire country , after the Netherlands and Belgium , and 17 days ahead of the right being extended across all of Canada . 
