San Salvador:
El Salvador's congress has approved a constitutional reform to ban gay marriage, with legislation declaring that only men and women "born this way" can marry.
The 84-seat legislature voted 47-0 for the legislation late Thursday, led by the right-wing Arena party. The ruling left-wing FMLN party abstained.
The bill needed at least 43 votes to pass this first hurdle.
A constitutional change needs a second vote by the next congress that will require a two-third, 56-vote majority, during the 2015-2019 session that begins May 1.
The right-wing parties failed to ratify a previous reform last year.