José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has promised to defend the rights won for

gay and lesbian people.

The Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, is on the cover of the

Spanish national gay magazine Zero this month. He uses an interview with

the magazine, which goes on sale today, to issue a warning to the Partido

Popular that he will not allow rights to be denied to any family in Spain.

Zapatero told the magazine that Spain is governed by the law, and not by

Catholicism.

The interview comes as the Socialists hope for support from the gay and lesbian community in the general election, and the Prime Minister has promised to extend the equality law to ensure that any homophobia is met head on. ‘We will make sure that not a single step backwards is taken on the land we have won’, he said .