Portugal: Thousands Attend Anti Gay-Marriage Protest in Lisbon

Thousands of Portuguese poured onto the streets of Lisbon Sunday in protest of a gay marriage law currently seeking the president's approval, the Spanish news agency EFE reported. Organizers estimated the event, called "in defense of the family," attracted a crowd of 5,000, but no official figures were reported.

Demonstrators marched down Lisbon's main downtown artery Av. da Liberdade (Liberty Avenue) calling on President Anibal Cavaco Silva to reject a gay marriage law approved twice by lawmakers. Silva is a Roman Catholic and a member of the PSD party, groups which oppose the legalization of gay marriage, and he has publicly stated his opposition to gay marriage.

However, Silva has several options before him, including vetoing the bill. Commentators in the Portuguese press have speculated he could forward the issue to the Constitutional Court. Last year, despite the fact that Portugal's Constitution outlaws discrimination based on sexual orientation, the court denied a lesbian couple the right to marry in a narrow 3-to-2 decision. The ruling prompted Socialists to draft the gay marriage bill.

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