Lesbian couple weds in Portugal's 1st gay marriage
Lawyer Blogs
A lesbian couple wed Monday in Portugal's first same-sex ceremony since the predominantly Catholic country introduced a law allowing gay marriage last month.
Teresa Pires and Helena Paixao, divorced Portuguese mothers in their 30s who have been together since 2003, married in a 15-minute ceremony at a Lisbon registry office.
"This is a great victory, a dream come true," Pires said as the couple kissed and hugged.
"Now we're a family, that's the important thing," Pires said, adding they would continue to fight for equal rights for homosexuals, including adoption.
The ceremony came less than a month after Portugal's conservative president ratified a gay marriage law passed by Parliament in January. His approval made Portugal the sixth in Europe to let same-sex couples wed.
The center-left Socialist government said the law is part of its effort to modernize Portugal, where homosexuality was a crime until 1982. Three years ago the same government lifted Portugal's ban on abortion, despite church opposition.
Related listings
-
Final NY hate crime suspect pleads guilty
Lawyer Blogs 06/04/2010The last of seven New York teenagers implicated in the hate crime killing of an Ecuadorean immigrant pleaded guilty on Wednesday.Anthony Hartford's plea to gang assault and other charges closes the prosecution phase of a case that attracted internati...
-
NY school sued after teen suspended over rosary
Lawyer Blogs 06/03/2010A federal judge says a New York school must reinstate a 13-year-old boy who was suspended for wearing rosary beads.Judge Lawrence Kahn ordered the Schenectady (skeh-NEHK'-ta-dee) seventh-grader reinstated pending a June 11 hearing into whether the su...
-
48 states: Funeral protests shouldn't be protected
Lawyer Blogs 06/02/2010Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia have submitted a brief to the Supreme Court in support of a father who sued anti-gay protesters over their demonstration at the 2006 funeral of his son, a Marine killed in Iraq.Only Virginia and Maine d...
New York Commercial Litigation Law Firm - Woods Lonergan PLLC
Founded in 1993 by Managing Partner James F. Woods, Woods Lonergan PLLC has built a strong reputation as a resourceful and industrious firm that provides clients with clear, concise, and straightforward answers to their most challenging legal issues. Partner Lawrence R. Lonergan, who joined the firm in 2008, has been a friend and colleague to Mr. Woods for over 40 years and shares the same business philosophy. Woods Lonergan PLLC’s collective experience and expertise enables the firm to expeditiously and effectively analyze the increasing challenges clients face in an evolving business and legal world, in many instances, avoiding unnecessary time and expense to our clients. Our mission is simple: provide cutting-edge expertise and sound advice in select areas of the law for corporate and business clients. We thrive on providing each client with personalized attention, forceful representation, and a collaborative team effort that embraces collective knowledge.