by Rex Wockner
International News Briefs
Portugal should see legalization of same-sex marriage one way or the other in a matter of weeks.
Parliament passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage in February and sent it to President Anibal Cavaco Silva in March. The president then sent it to the Constitutional Court for review. On April 8, the court said there are no problems with the law and returned it to Cavaco Silva, who has 20 days to sign or veto it.
If he signs it, it becomes law. If he vetoes it, Parliament is expected to pass it again, which would force Cavaco Silva to sign it.
The law specifically excludes access to adoption for married same-sex couples.
Socialist Prime Minister Jose Socrates has said legalizing same-sex marriage "rights a wrong" and increases freedom and equality.
The European Region of ILGA – the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association – called the law's passage "fantastic" and said, "It is clear that a European consensus is fast emerging on marriage equality."
Same-sex marriage is legal in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Spain and Sweden; in Mexico City and Argentina's Tierra del Fuego province; and in Washington, D.C., and the states of Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.