a head of my own

I've been meaning to post this for quite a while. It's a speech Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero gave to Parliament on June 30, 2005, the day Spain became the third country in the world to legalize gay marriages nationwide.

This is an article about it by 365Gay.com.

The words he said were so moving, they brought tears to my eyes:

"Today, Spanish society is responding to a group of people who for years have been humiliated, whose rights have been ignored, their dignity offended, their identity denied and their freedom restricted," he said. "Today Spanish society grants them the respect they deserve, recognizes their rights, restores their dignity, affirms their identity, and restores their liberty.

"We are not the first [to do this] but I am sure we will not be the last," he said. "After us will come many other countries, driven, ladies and gentlemen, by two unstoppable forces: freedom and equality.

"[This is] a small change in wording that means an immense change in the lives of thousands of citizens. We are not legislating, ladies and gentlemen, for people who are far away and unknown to us. We are expanding opportunities for the happiness of our neighbors, our work colleagues, our friends, our relatives.

"It is true that [gays] are only a minority but their triumph is a triumph for everybody... Their victory makes us all better, makes our society better."