Top Portuguese Court OKs Gay Marriage

I like david from News Orleans comment (4-9-2010) For those who think Catholics are more likely to be anti-gay. A new study finds that is not necessarily true. The states with the highest proportion of Catholics are the states that are more likely to support LGBT rights.According to an article in Pink News, Six of the eight states where 50 per cent or more of the public supports gay marriage are the states with the highest proportion of Catholics, ranging from Rhode Island at 46 per cent to New York and California at 37 per cent. For the most part Catholic people follow the churches teachings of good works, included in that is social justice, included in that is supporting gay rights ( not all, mind you, but a good percentage) Based on this, for those who direct their venom to Catholic people and their church, it seems it would be better to use ones efforts to cultivate them as allies in the quest for full equality.

Thankyou Lisbon! Everyone deserves a present when they come to visit, so I hope the Pope will receive his in May. ;)

Way to go lovely Portugal! Now even more reasons to love your country and to visit! God bless!!

Well, I would not be worrying too much about the Pope, the Vatican and the Catholic Church and what they have to say about same-sex marriage that is, hopefully, about to become legal in Portugal. With all of the child abuse going on within the church and the church's less than believeable apologies for the pain and anguish they have caused, I would think they have lost a good lot of their credibility with the masses. Bravo for Portugal though for recognizing all people are equal under the law and for becoming the eighth country in the world showing the United States of America how it is done!

In this case, a veto will only delay the law, not prevent it, because a majority in the Assembly will just vote it a second time. The President may choose to veto it, just as a manifestation of his beliefs. But seeing that he has always been a political coward, I think he will sign it. Coincidently, if he chooses to sign it, the law may come into force shortly before or even during the Pope's visit to Portugal in May. Now that will be interesting!

Raphael's comment has several inaccuracies. First, Portugal has a unicameral legislature, i.e., it has no Senate or upper house whatsoever. Secondly, only the leftwing parties voted for this law; the rightwing parties voted against it. Like in the US, the President has the power to veto any legislation. He also has the option to send it to the Constitutional Court in order to evaluate its constitutionality. But, after that, he retains the power to veto. It he vetoes, nothing will happen to him. The President is elected independently (there will be an election in January 2011) and does not need the confidence of the Assembly of the Republic to stay in office. Also, the President has very limited powers. It is the Prime Minister who really governs. The President only retains some reserve powers, that he uses very seldom. If the chooses to veto this law, the veto will most likely be overturned by the Assembly by a second vote. In this case, the President will be forced to sign it.

Portugal's a predominantly Catholic country. So is Spain, which adopted marriage equality by popular vote a couple of years ago. Ordinary Catholics, by and large, are not enemies of LGBT rights. Do not confuse them with the radical Christian right, for example, in America, over 50% of Catholics voted for Obama, whereas the radical Christian conservatives, mostly fundamentalists, were overwhelmingly opposed to Obama. It is only the hardliners in control at the Vatican who are unrelenting in their attacks on us, led by the current pope, perhaps the most virulent homophobe in papal history. (Coincidentally, the reCaptcha phrase for this post was "butch city")

@Matt87 Silva has 20 days to sign the legislation, he may not like it but he can't veto it now as the constitutional court has cleared it. I believe the legislation passed with almost unanimous approval in both their senate and legislative house. Unlike the US the president does not have the power to veto the will of the people, by sending it to the constitutional court was his last attempt at not signing it. I believe it has also been reported that if he does not sign then a search for a new President will take place as he will have loss the support of the government. Democracy in Europe is different than in the US, it is parliamentary and the President is only in power if he has the support of the legislature, he can choose to not sign but then he is putting his position of president in jeopardy. Most European countries are more than familiar with dictators and their constitutions now make it very difficult for one man to set the direction of the country.

Don't count your chickens yet. Silva still must sign the bill before it becomes law, and it's uncertain what will happen if he does not. I'm sick of conservatives standing in the way of our rights. I agree with the other posters, it's worse in the US than many countries.

The US falls behind another country in terms of LGBT rights. Thanks Congress. Thanks Mr. President. Thanks Supreme Court Justices. Thanks for taking our money and giving us nothing in return. We'll just take our seats in the back of the bus!!!