Portugal parliament votes down legalization of same-sex marriage News
Portugal parliament votes down legalization of same-sex marriage

[JURIST] The Portuguese Assembly of the Republic [official website, in Portuguese] on Friday voted overwhelmingly against two opposition proposals to legalize same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive]. The two proposals, introduced separately by the Left Bloc and the Green Party [party websites, in Portuguese], failed to obtain any support from the ruling Socialist Party (PS) or the main opposition Social Democratic Party (PSD) [party websites, in Portuguese]. The PS and PSD combine for a total of 196 seats in the 230 seat parliament.

Same-sex marriage is recognized in Belgium, Canada, The Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, and Norway. In the United States, same-sex marriages are now permitted in Massachusetts, California, and Connecticut. In 2003, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage [opinion text; JURIST report]. SAPA-AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Guiteau tried for assassinating US President Garfield

On November 14, 1881, Charles Guiteau went on trial for the assassination of US President James A. Garfield. The trial of Guiteau pointed to problems with nineteenth-century law's treatment of insanity; Guiteau's trial is also problematic in retrospect as Garfield's death was immediately attributable not to Guiteau, but to Garfield's doctors who—before sterilization was well understood—repeated probed his wound with unwashed hands while searching for an embedded bullet.