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Spain's Parliament may approve same-sex marriages early next year, Justice Minister Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar said on Wednesday.

He spoke a day after lawmakers took a first step in that direction, approving a nonbinding resolution urging the Socialist government to amend Spain's civil code to permit gay marriage.

Lopez Aguilar said legislators will start reforming articles in the code as early as September, and that gay marriage could become a reality early next year.

"It's a challenge that this government wants to undertake, to remove a border of inequality," Lopez Aguilar said after meeting with representatives of gay and lesbian groups. "It is a fair cause that doesn't offend anyone."

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