28/04/2005 00:00
TW
0
By Humphrey Carter THE mayor of Palma, Catalina Cirer, back tracked slightly on her refusal to marry homosexual couples yesterday claiming she would comply with the new Spanish laws on gay marriage “in extreme cases.” Cirer's announcement on Tuesday that, while in favour of gay union, she is opposed to gay marriage provoked outrage from left wing and socialist parties in the Balearics yesterday as the issue exploded on to the front pages.

Spokesperson for the PSOE Palma socialist group, Antoni Roig, yesterday announced that they will marry all the homosexual couples the Mayor turns down.
Roig said that he and his fellow councillors feel let down by Cirer's attitude to the new laws “she's Mayor of everybody in Palma, not just the Catholics.” The United Left-Green Party coalition accused Cirer of being “homophobic” and accused her decision to ignore the law “irresponsible”.
The PSM Majorcan Socialist party accused Cirer of discrimination and party spokesperson said that the bottom line is that the mayor has to comply with the law and “behave like a mayor, whatever her feelings.” Cirer hit back yesterday afternoon saying that “in an extreme case of there being no other councillor available to preside over a homosexual marriage, she would marry the couple involved.” However, while admitting that if the Socialist government-backed bill is finally approved by the Senate and becomes law, Palma city council will obviously comply. She repeated that, “as a practicising Catholic” she is opposed to homosexual marriages and that, in order not to break the law, she will delegate the task to other councillors.

She added that marriages have always been carried out by various members of the council so there is no reason why she should have to carry out homosexual marriages.

Cirer's Conservative Partido Popular voted against the bill saying that gay relationships fall outside the traditional institution of marriage. Religious groups, including Roman Catholic bishops, Jews and Protestant bodies have also expressed their opposition to prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's change to the law.

Zapatero's controversial bill has not only widened the split between the two main political parties in Spain but also split society.
In the Balearics, a number of Conservative PP mayors have come forward backing Catalina Cirer's stance.
However, homosexual blessings have already been carried out in Calvia and Puigpunyet over the past few years.