Same-sex marriage in Portugal

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Portugal since June 5, 2010. This means two people who love each other can get married, no matter their gender.

The idea to allow same-sex marriage was introduced by the government led by Prime Minister José Sócrates in December 2009. After talks and votes in the Assembly of the Republic, the law was approved in February 2010.

The highest court in Portugal, the Portuguese Constitutional Court, checked the law and approved it in April 2010. Then, President Aníbal Cavaco Silva signed the law on May 17, 2010. This made Portugal the sixth country in Europe to allow same-sex marriage. The law started being used on June 5, 2010.

Background

De facto unions

Main article: De facto union in Portugal

In Portugal, couples who live together without being married can have many of the same rights and benefits as married couples. This is called a de facto union. In 2001, the law was changed to allow both opposite-sex and same-sex couples to form these unions.

Constitutional Court ruling

In 2006, a couple asked to get married, but were told no because they were the same sex. They believed this was unfair and took their case to a special court. After some time, the court decided that the rules about marriage needed to be changed by the government's lawmakers, not the court.

Legislative action

2008 bills

Two ideas to allow same-sex marriage were given to Parliament on 10 October 2008. These ideas were from the Left Bloc and the Green Party. But both were turned down because the ruling Socialist Party and the Social Democratic Party did not agree.

Passage of legislation in 2010

Prime Minister José Sócrates said on 18 January 2009 that if his party won the elections in September 2009, he would let same-sex couples marry. This idea did not include adoption, but many groups happy about equal rights thought it was a good step.

In May 2009, many people in Portugal started a movement for same-sex couples to marry. Famous people like writer José Saramago and the Mayor of Lisbon, António Costa, supported this. After the elections, Prime Minister Sócrates said his party would work to make same-sex marriage legal.

In November 2009, one member of Parliament asked for a public vote, but the Prime Minister and others said no. In December 2009, the government approved the plan for same-sex marriage. In January 2010, Parliament voted and approved the plan.

The plan went to the highest court to check if it followed Portugal’s rules. In April 2010, the court said it was okay. On 17 May 2010, the President signed the plan into law. The law started on 5 June 2010. That day, two women were the first same-sex couple to marry in Portugal, in Lisbon. The first same-sex marriage in the Azores happened later, on 29 August 2010, on Terceira.

Adoption and parenting

In February 2012, Parliament turned down plans to let married same-sex couples adopt children. In May 2013, another plan was also turned down. Later that month, Parliament agreed that a married same-sex couple could adopt their partner’s child, but this plan was turned down again in March 2014.

In January 2014, Parliament wanted people to vote on whether same-sex couples should be allowed to adopt, but the highest court said this was not allowed.

In November 2015, Parliament approved plans to let same-sex couples adopt. But the President turned down the plan in January 2016. Parliament disagreed and overrode his decision. The new law letting same-sex couples adopt started on 1 March 2016.

Marriage statistics

By June 2011, one year after same-sex marriage became legal in Portugal, about 380 such marriages had taken place. The number of marriages in 2020 was lower than in earlier years because of restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Number of marriages and divorces in Portugal
Year	Same-sex marriages			Total marriages	Same-sex divorces			Total divorces
Year	Female	Male	Total	Total marriages	Female	Male	Total	Total divorces
2010	89	177	266	39,993	0	0	0	27,556
2011	103	221	324	36,035	1	5	6	27,098
2012	108	216	324	34,423	6	12	18	25,722
2013	98	207	305	31,998	10	19	29	22,784
2014	127	181	308	31,478	16	19	35	22,239
2015	127	223	350	32,393	18	20	38	23,633
2016	173	249	422	32,399	16	23	39	22,649
2017	241	282	523	33,634	28	36	64	21,930
2018	265	342	607	34,637	27	49	76	20,776
2019	319	358	677	33,272	53	52	105	20,846
2020	209	236	445	18,902	40	46	86	17,684
2021	262	287	549	29,057	48	44	92	17,685
2022	388	413	801	36,952	74	67	141	18,956
2023	461	548	1,009	36,980	62	65	127	17,948

Religious performance

Many religious groups in Portugal do not support marriages between people of the same sex. The Catholic Church was against the law allowing such marriages. Even though Portugal does not favor any one religion, its history with the Catholic Church made talks about this law more intense.

In 2023, an important document was shared that let Catholic priests give blessings to couples who are not married in the traditional church way, including couples of the same sex. This caused some talk among Catholic leaders.

Public opinion

A survey from 2008 showed that 42% of people in Portugal supported marriages between people of the same sex. By 2023, support had grown to 81%. Most people thought marriages between people of the same sex should be allowed across Europe. Younger people and those without strong religious ties were more likely to support these marriages.