Paraguay’s new President apologises for saying he would ‘shoot himself’ if his son were gay
The newly elected Paraguayan President who said he would “shoot himself in the testicles”, if his son got married to a man, has apologised for the comments.
Multi-millionaire businessman Horacio Cartes, apologised for the comments he made during an interview on the campaign trail, during an interview at which he fielded questions around alleged cocaine and marijuana seizures from his properties, and about which family member will take over his businesses, in order to avoid a conflict of interests as President.
“I have no shame in apologising to those who felt offended for an expression of mine with respect to same-sex marriage,” he said.
Cartes secured victory over his Liberal rival, Efrain Alegre, on Sunday and returned the conservative Colorado Party to the presidency.
Although opposed to equal marriage, Alegre signalled a more thoughtful approach to the issue during the election campaign.
“This is something that needs to be discussed in society,” he said earlier this month. The now defeated Liberal Party opponent said that Cartes’ remarks represented “the Paraguay of the past.”
Paraguay currently has no legislation in place for same-sex marriage, or civil unions, however some have noted that if Cartes were to become president, he would be isolated from other Latin American nations which have legalised them.
Argentina’s neighbour Uruguay, is to become the 12th country in the world to make it legal for same-sex couples to marry nationwide after Congress ratified a bill passed last week in the Senate.
