TORONTO (AP) – Canada would become only the third country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage under landmark legislation passed in the House of Commons in spite of fierce opposition from Conservatives and religious leaders.

The bill would grant 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 also expected to easily pass the Senate and become federal law by the end of July.

The Netherlands and Belgium are the only other two nations that allow same-sex marriage nationwide.

Some of Martin’s Liberal lawmakers voted against the bill, and a Cabinet minister resigned over the legislation. But enough allies rallied to support the bill that has been debated for months, voting 158 to 133 to approve it on the evening of Tuesday, June 28.

Martin praised the vote as a necessary step for human rights.

“We are a nation of minorities,” Martin said. “And in a nation of minorities, it is important that you don’t cherry-pick rights.”

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 by law to perform same-sex ceremonies, with couples taking them to court or human rights tribunals if refused. 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. Charles McVety, a spokesperson for Defend Marriage Canada and president of Canada Christian College, called the vote an “onerous breach of trust and the deconstruction of so much that is dear to our hearts.”

McVety vowed his group would work to vote out lawmakers who supported the legislation in the next general elections. “We will, in the next election, be able to correct this incredible democratic deficit before us today,” he said.

The debate in Canada began in December, when the Supreme Court ruled that passage of same-sex legislation would not violate the constitution.

In the United States, Massachusetts is the only state that allows same-sex marriages; Vermont and Connecticut have approved same-sex civil unions.

“We know that it has been somewhat contentious in Canada, but at the same time the Canadians have largely approached this issue in a rational and democratic way and are providing a very positive model for the rest of the world,” said Roberta Sklar, spokesperson for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in Washington, D.C.

Though hundreds of foreigners have come to Canada to seek civil ceremonies since same-sex marriages were first allowed in Ontario and British Columbia in 2003, not all countries or states recognize the unions.