(Copenhagen) Denmark’s Parliament has passed legislation allowing same-sex couples to adopt children.  The bill puts gay and lesbian couples on the same footing as opposite-sex couples.

Gay couples had been fighting for a decade to have the law passed. They found backing in the latest attempt from the opposition Social Democrats and Socialist People’s Party. While the center-right government opposed the bill, seven members of the ruling Liberal Party voted in favor of the bill.

Passage of the law puts Denmark in line with other European Union countries, including Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden, allowing same-sex couples equal rights in adoption.

In 1989, Denmark became the world’s first country to allow civil unions for gays. In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country to offer full marriage rights to gay couples.

Danish LGBT groups hope passage of the adoption law will spur lawmakers to support same-sex marriage legislation.