by Rex Wockner
International News Briefs
Same-sex marriages could start in Portugal in May.
Parliament finalized and passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage on Feb. 11. The law was sent to President Anibal Cavaco Silva on March 5. On March 13, Cavaco Silva sent it to the Constitutional Court for review.
The court must act on the review by April 8. The bill then will return to the president, who will have 20 more days to mull it over. If he signs it, it becomes law. If he vetoes it, Parliament is expected to pass it again, which would then force Cavaco Silva to sign it.
Should the Constitutional Court find some problem with the law, which is considered to be unlikely, Parliament then probably would amend it to address the court's concerns.
The current form of the law specifically excludes access to adoption for married same-sex couples, which may catch the Constitutional Court's attention. However, Cavaco Silva did not request court review of that provision.
Socialist Prime Minister Jose Socrates has said legalizing same-sex marriage "rights a wrong" and increases freedom and equality.
The board co-chair of the European Region of ILGA – the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association – said same-sex marriage is rapidly becoming the norm in Europe.
"It is truly a fantastic start of 2010 for LGBT people in Portugal and Europe as a whole," said Martin K.I. Christensen. "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.
