Guns, Abortion and the Constitution
Portugal will surprise you...
Portugal is a country with a long Catholic tradition. When I think Catholic, I think conservative. But Portugal is far more progressive than the US in many ways. Permit me to point out three big ones…
Portuguese Gun Laws
Many Americans cite safety as one of the reasons they want to move to Portugal. The Global Peace Index ranks Portugal as the 7th “safest” country and the US as the 132nd.1 While I am sure many of my readers will disagree (see comments attached to this post) it seems to me that the near non-existent gun safety laws in the US may influence these ratings. Portuguese citizens can own a gun. However, gun ownership is regulated.
Note: I have been asked if US citizens can bring their guns to Portugal. I do not have any direct experience with this issue, however, it would appear it is difficult. I happen to think this is a good thing!
Abortion
I wrote a post about abortion in September 2021, right around the time Texas was passing its vigilante law. As someone who worked in family planning clinics and was once a NARAL board member, I have some experience with this issue. So I took the time to research Portugal’s laws related to abortion. While 80+% of the Portuguese population consider themselves Catholic, abortion is legal in Portugal. As such, women living in Portugal have broader rites than a third of the women in America.
Constitution
Oddly enough, I read the Mueller report the night I flew from the US to Portugal. Shortly after my arrival, I read the Portuguese constitution. I was struck by how different a document written in 1976 is from one which originated in 1776. It granted equal rights to everyone regardless of ancestry, sex, race, language, territory of origin, religion, political or ideological beliefs, education, economic situation, social circumstances, or sexual orientation.
Since I wrote my original post, I have done more research. I have learned that the Portuguese constitution has the longest unamendable clause in the world. thus ensuring that these rights cannot be removed. (This sort of clause, also called an entrenchment or eternity clause, prevents a court from making a ruling that changes it.2 ) If you would like to read more about the Portuguese constitution, I suggest you read this.
Portugal has seven official holidays that are “religious” (e.g. Good Friday, Assumption Day, Day of the Immaculate Conception, etc). That is nearly half of all the “state holidays” currently on the books. In addition, many more celebrations and festivals are dedicated to Saints, and processions originating at the church parade through our town on a fairly regular basis.
In the United States of America Christian Nationalists gain support in the halls of government, a Supreme Court judge unfurls its flag at his home, and school boards ban books and attempt to rewrite history. Christian nationalists assert that America is and must remain a ‘Christian nation.’
In Portugal, religion is your right … but you don’t have the right to force it onto anyone else.
Fica bem, obrigada pela leitura,
Nanc
The GPI consists of 23 qualitative and quantitative measures grouped into three categories. These are domestic and international conflict, societal safety and security, and militarism.
I think about the impact of the US Supreme Court which seems to mimic a political party more than a court today.
Soon I fear Portuguese women will have more rights than 100% of American women. It is definitely one of the reasons I left the USA. I lived in Texas and it is so corrupt and misogynistic, I was not paying $14,000 a year in property taxes to a bunch of men who took women’s’ rights. If I don’t have rights I’m not paying taxes. Also in Texas, the gun laws don’t exist. And people who say if you take away big cities there isn’t that much are delusional. Gun deaths happen every single day in Texas, and when children were murdered so that they were unrecognizable, the governor said, “it could have been worse.” Not one single law officer has been removed from their job for the botched debacle in Uvalde, Texas, a very small town. And I hate to say this, but in America, 2025 is going to see more grifting and graft and turning back the clock on progress than probably in my lifetime of almost 70 years. Those Project 2025 dudes didn’t write that crap just as a literary exercise. I feel for American citizens and innocent people who will be impacted by the evil and greed and corruption of the incoming administration, but I’m damn glad I had the foresight to see what was coming.
Good post Nancy. I moved to Portugal mainly because I felt an intangible sense of liberation during several vacations here. The feeling was palpable coming from the USA to here. The atmosphere of contentment and gentleness was and still is something I treasure. Your piece about the Portuguese constitution helps explain it.