Paraguay’s new President apologises for saying he would ‘shoot himself’ if his son were gay

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a pink background.

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’ previous anti-gay comments came to light when the New York Times cited a radio interview, during which he said he would “shoot himself in the testicles” if his son were to marry another man.

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.

In 2010, Argentina’s Senate voted 33-27 to support a bill to legalise equal marriage. President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner supported the legislation, making Argentina the first Latin American country to allow same-sex marriage, and full adoption.

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.

A judge in Paraguay recently refused to register the marriage of a gay couple who legally tied the knot in Argentina. Judge Nery Kunzle rejected Cazal Simon and Sergio Lopez’s request to register their marriage.

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