Spain Will Legalise Gay 'Marriages' - Zapatero

"We are going to present a bill to set gay unions on the same footing as marriage," he said in an interview on Spain's Telecinco television channel.

"From a semantic point of view marriage may be a concept that does not cover this type of union, but it will have the same legal effects," he added.

During the outgoing center-right government's two terms in office, opposition politicians in mainly Catholic Spain made several attempts to legalize same-sex marriage.

Zapatero, who swept to a surprise victory in general elections on Sunday, made legalizing gay unions one of his campaign pledges.

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