Canada's Senate voted to adopt landmark legislation to legalize gay marriage nationwide, despite fierce opposition from Conservatives and religious leaders.
The bill grants same-sex couples legal rights equal to those in traditional unions between a man and a woman, something already legal in a majority of Canadian provinces.
The legislation drafted by Prime Minister Paul Martin's minority Liberal Party government was easily passed on Tuesday by the Senate, which essentially rubber stamps any bill already passed by the House of Commons, which passed it late last month.
The bill becomes law when it is signed by Canada's governor-general. Once that happens, Canada will become only the fourth country in the world to legalize gay marriage nationwide, after the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain.
The 47-21 Senate vote came after years of court battles and debate that divided families, religious groups and even political allies.
The final word in the debate came from a Liberal senator who read to the hushed chamber an e-mail from a Yukon territory constituent.
"You have no idea what a difference it makes to the human spirit to know that you are treated equally under the law," said Ione Christensen, the 71-year-old senator from Whitehorse.
There are an estimated 34,000 gay and lesbian couples in Can-ada, according to government statistics.
Martin, a Roman Catholic, has said that despite anyone's personal beliefs, all Canadians should be granted the same rights to marriage.
Churches have expressed concern that their clergy would be compelled to perform same-sex ceremonies. The legislation, however, states that the bill only covers civil unions, not religious ones, and no clergy would be forced to perform same-sex ceremonies unless they choose to do so.
The Roman Catholic Church, the predominant Christian denomination in Canada, has vigorously opposed the legislation from the outset, saying that it would harm young children in particular.
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