Portugal Passes Gay Marriage Bill

We are two American men who have been together in love for 34 years. We married in Canada in 2003, the first country to allow Americans to marry there without becoming permanent residents. Canada has an age limit of 55 for residency permits, Australia (where I lived once for 3 yrs.) has an age limit of 45. We wonder if Portugal also has a low age limit. It seems these age limits are to prevent 63 year old Americans like us from moving there for the free health insurance. Ageism trumps heterosexism in most countries that have approved our marriage.

American gay people are welcome in Europe and very specially in Spain and Portugal. I´m Spanish and gays of my country faighted in the near past to get 100% of heterosexuals rights, including of course the marriage between same sex people. After several years aproved we are enjoing same rights including childrens adoption. If the current situation of rights in the USA for gay people is the one shown on the TV series QUEER AS FOLK, I´m very sad.

As a 65 year old black homosexual male, I find it stunning that biblical interpretations used to vilify homosexual folks started after the likes of Anita Bryant and her ilk, post the Stonewall Riots of 1969, which started our liberation movement. We saw the light. No more hiding in the dark behind those tinted windows and our right to exist. The hierarchy of human superiority over those of us who are black and homosexuals was disrupted, yet again. During my youth, I did not hear ministers shouting across their podiums about homosexuals destroying society as we do post Stonewall. Even the most extremely uneducated and ignorant believe hierarchical superiority over us homosexuals, not even aware that they are following beliefs that they have been carefully taught. 2010, I still feel and see racism here in America and will for the remainder of my life, sadly. Black or homosexual, Equal and Civil Rights Under the Law. Period! Puritan beliefs are just that. Christians who create wars are...?

Just a reader, Your niavete is almost as touchingly childlike as it is dangerous. If conventional marriages are so weak that they need bolstering by being unjust to your fellow citizens, then I am certain that such an institution needs to be re-evaluated. Ridiculous argument that immediately presupposes that Marriage is a weak institution and that all other readers are intellectually challenged enough not to be able to differentiate an act of injustice.

What was the meaning of the point that the most Christian areas of the country have higher rates of divorce and single mothers? Could it just be that Christians actually get MARRIED more in the first place and don’t just shack up? And that Christian women don’t get abortions when they have an unplanned pregnancy? None of this is the real point, which is the standards of society, not the actual behavior of people, which is always going to be lacking. We don’t decriminalize drunk driving because people do it. And we keep marriage between a man and a woman even in spite of divorce. Homosexual behavior should be restricted, hemmed in and proscribed but tolerated until the time comes when the family is stabilized, which will prevent most cases of the homosexual inclination from developing in the first place.

If you're (American) gay or lesbian and like weather like FL and Southern CA, Portugal and Spain are looking like great options.

America is definatly trailing in civil rights, healthcare, education but proudly we are leading in Divorce, teenage pregnancy, and the Christian community leads all others in this too. But they have the gay community to pick on and blame their problems on.

I always love European countries for being open minded and care about human rights issue. Bravo Portugal. In the other hand, the US is already have gay, lesbian mayors, and not to mention transgender woman is the white house, yet the government and it's people still ignoring the rights of gay people, especially those right winger who still think they are HOLY. What it is wrong with America? I know most people are hypocrites, but how long are you going to stay like that? What are you waiting for? The Human Rights and LGBT organizations are base in this country, but why can't the US lead in this issue? Thank You.

Take that United States! Tell us citizens again about how wonderful our constitution is and how the U.S.A. is the "LEADER " in "HUMAN RIGHTS". YOU- FUCKEN LIE!!!

I'm very happy things are changing here but there is still a long way to go for all of us, world citizens, fighting injustice for all. now the fight as to be for a true socialist society, no church no army, the people ruling themselfs.. i'll be fight for us here, and i hope you do the same there. hasta la revolucion obrigado aos srs. deputados por terem acabado com esta discriminação, só já faltam umas duas mil...