Holding hands in public

Holding hands in public | GlobalPost

Four years after Spain legalized gay marriage, gay couples say mainstream attitudes have changed.

MADRID — In 1976, Antonio Ruiz was sent to prison. His “crime”: Being gay. A nun supposedly reported him to the authorities after his mother told her he was gay. Thirty-three years later, the state is set to pay him for that indignity.

In one and a half generations, Spain has gone from imprisoning homosexuals to seeing a priest and an army lieutenant colonel publicly come out of the closet. Gay and lesbian couples kiss in the streets. They seem to be ever-present in TV programs and fiction series. And, since 2005, they can get married and adopt children — military personnel included.

The concerns of conservatives have not been entirely allayed — they still argue that gay marriage results in the devaluation of marriage, though they no longer take to the streets in protest like they did four years ago....