Same-sex marriages set to be approved before 2010
- The Portugal News Online, www.the-news.net December 23, 2009
The Portuguese government were planning to present a law decree proposal to Parliament paving the way for same-sex marriages by the end of this year, a senior minister said.
Pedro Silva Pereira, the minister to the presidency, said the draft bill was to be discussed in the Council of Ministers last Thursday and taken to parliament later this month for action.
He said the right of adoption by homosexual couples would not be included in the bill.
Prime Minister José Sócrates’ Socialist Party included a same-sex marriage plan in its election manifesto for last September’s legislative polls.
While the Socialists were returned to power with a parliamentary minority, the proposal is expected to get the backing of leftist opposition parties, virtually assuring its passage, analysts said.
TPN/Lusa
