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- Portugal next for gay marriage?

Written by Ron Hughes
Thursday, 01 October 2009 14:35

Portugal may be the next country to see gay marriage legalised, if re-elected Prime Minister José Sócrates can make good on his election promise, Pink News reports.

Sócrates (pictured), of the Socialist Party, promised the legalisation of same sex marriage during his re-election campaign, but his party has been returned without an absolute parliamentary majority.

Despite not having a total majority, most Portugese MPs are from left-wing parties, all of which support same sex marriage.

Attempts to institute gay marriage in the past have been met with fierce resistance from conservatives and the Catholic church.

In July this year, a legal challenge saw the Portugese constitutional court uphold the ban on same sex marriage.

The recent election also brought in Portugal’s first openly-gay MP. Miguel Vale de Almeida is an independent Socialist.