 Despite this negative report , the government presented the bill to Congress on 1 October 2004 . With the exception of the People 's Party and members of the Democratic Union of Catalonia , the different parliamentary parties favoured the reform . On 21 April 2005 , Congress approved the bill , with 183 " yes " and 136 " no " votes and 6 abstentions ( including a member of the People 's Party ) . The bill to allow same @-@ sex marriage in Spain was short : it added a new paragraph to article 44 of the civil code , saying that Matrimony shall have the same requisites and effects regardless of whether the persons involved are of the same or different sex . 
