SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — A bill that would ban same-sex marriage in El Salvador has won preliminary approval from the legislature.

A package of constitutional reforms approved Thursday night also would bar same-sex couples from adopting children.

The reforms will not take effect unless they are ratified by a two-thirds majority in the next legislative session, which will open on May 1. That would mean the changes would have to win support from at least 56 congressional deputies.

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Last night, the bills were backed by 47 of the 84 members.

El Salvador does not legally recognize same-sex marriage. In 2009, a similar effort to amend the constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman also failed to win ratification.

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