Luxembourg has passed a same-sex marriage bill, by a landslide vote of 56-4.

The new bill will allow same-sex couples to marry, and will also put in place new adoption rights for same-sex couples.

Green MP Viviane Loschetter said, “Gay people should have the same rights as heterosexuals. With this law, we do not throw overboard all the values ​​of our society.

“All we have done is give equal rights to gay people. We formally recognise a form of relationship that has always existed.”

Roy Reding,one of the four right-wing MPs to vote against the bill, said “The most important institution of our society, marriage, is ruined.”

LGBT rights advocates have welcomed the bill. Ty Cobb of the Human Rights Campaign said he commended the leaders of Luxembourg for “granting the nation’s LGBT citizens the rights they deserve,” adding, “we congratulate the LGBT activists and advocates who made this historic day possible.”

Luxembourg will be the 9th EU country to introduce marriage for same-sex couples, joining the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Denmark, France, England and Wales.

According to the Chamber of Deputies, the law is expected to be in force by early 2015.