From: ilga@mail.telepac.pt (ILGA-Portugal)
Subject: Portuguese News
Date: 31 Mar 96 15:10:04 GMT

Last Thursday, the 28th of March, ILGA-Portugal formally presented
Parlaiment with our own project for the Constitutional Revison due later
this year. The 54 page document was handed, during a hearing, to the
President of Parlaiment. Four of the five parties, granted us a hearing too,
during which we discussed our proposal and fomally dilivered it. The only
party which hasn't yet scheduled a meeting with ILGA-Portugal is the Popular
Party, a right-wing party with but a few MP's in this chamber. No reasonable
excuse has been provided so far, only the guarentee that eventually a date
shall be set. All the other parties that have talked with us, seem to agree
that there are no obstacles to have article 13 changed in the manner we
proposed.

In the nineteenth cenutry, Portugal set a precedent, being the first country
in the world to outlaw slavery and the death penalty. ILGA-Portugal hopes
that this proud tradition in human rights be continued into creating
legislation to protect the minority homosexual community.

To all those who help us in this project, here and abroad, we thank you. Now
we have to wait a few months, and observe the results.

Goncalo Diniz
ILGA-Portugal
31 March 1996