May 17 will be Portugal’s National Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.
The news is reported by Sol newspaper, which says the project will be officially ratified in Parliament tomorrow (June 26), with all parties firmly behind it.
The proposal was put forward by the Socialist Party (PS) and has already been discussed by the Parliamentary Commission for Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees.
“Establishing this day has a symbolic weight. The Portuguese State will now, through its Parliament, acknowledge the fight against homophobia and transphobia,” socialist MP Pedro Delgado Alves told Sol.
As Alves explained, many countries already celebrate some kind of ‘gay day’ on May 17.
“The day is already culturally engrained but its formal acknowledgment will bolster the fight against discrimination and help the institutions that already celebrate the day,” he added.
