Portugal OKs Same-Sex Marriage

It seems the Portuguese president has no choice on this one: Conservative President Anibal Cavaco Silva is reluctantly ratifying a law that will allow gay marriage not because he supports it, but because majority of liberal lawmakers will just overturn his veto. Instead of prolonging this process, the country should turn its focus to the economic crisis that has increased unemployment recently, the president said. Silva’s signature comes after a four-day visit from Pope Benedict XVI, who said same-sex marriage and abortion were some of the most “insidious and dangerous” threats facing the world. Portugal, which is predominantly Catholic, will become the sixth European country to allow same-sex couples to wed after Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Norway.