BRAZIL: Reactions as Brazil court clears the way for legalisation of gay marriage

Record ID: 277860

  • Title: BRAZIL: Reactions as Brazil court clears the way for legalisation of gay marriage
  • Date: 15th May 2013
  • Summary: SAO PAULO, BRAZIL (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SAME-SEX COUPLE MARRYING CLOSE-UP OF GOLDEN WEDDING BANDS PLACED ON RED FELT ANOTHER SAME-SEX COUPLE MARRYING CLOSE-UP OF WEDDING BANDS IN SMALL JEWELRY BOX ANOTHER SAME-SEX COUPLE MARRYING CLOSE-UP OF WEDDING BANDS BEING PUT ON HAND SAME-SEX COUPLE HAS RICE THROWN ON THEM AFTER BEING MARRIED
  • Embargoed: 30th May 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Brazil
  • Country: Brazil
  • Topics: Legal System,Politics,Religion,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVA1EYX1LBQ7DZSTDABTIOGT5C78
  • Story Text: Brazil's National Council of Justice passes a resolution forbidding notaries public from denying the execution or legalization of same-sex marriages.


    Brazil has taken a big step towards joining Argentina and Uruguay in legalizing gay marriage, even though the Brazilian Congress is dragging its feet on the issue.
    A panel that oversees the Brazilian judicial system ruled on Tuesday (May 14) that the country's notaries public cannot deny marriage licenses to people of the same sex who live together.
    The National Council of Justice based its decision on a 2011 Supreme Court ruling that gays in stable relationships should have the same rights as heterosexual couples in terms of retirement benefits, inheritance and alimony.
    While Brazil's judiciary has taken the lead on legalizing same-sex marriage, full recognition will depend on the approval of a gay marriage law by Congress, where a bill has faced opposition from conservative evangelical lawmakers.
    Notaries public in 12 of Brazil's 26 states and its Federal District are already complying with the 2011 ruling officializing gay marriages but often require court orders beforehand, according to a recent survey by O Globo newspaper.
    Prior to Tuesday's ruling, gay couples could be denied marriage certificates because notaries public were not legally bound to marry them, but now notaries can be taken to court for refusing to do so.
    The ruling was proposed by the chief justice of Brazil's Supreme Court, Joaquim Barbosa, who also heads the judicial oversight panel. He said gay couples were a part of Brazil's social reality and should not be discriminated against.
    Marcio Villard, a coordinator with HIV/AIDS organization Grupo Pela Vidda in Rio de Janeiro, shared what he felt the National Council of Justice's decision meant.
    "Legislation as a whole is going to take these decisions into account. New legislation in the future will be widespread in our society. Sadly, things are not fast, they are not easy. But we understand that it's an important step towards guaranteeing this right," Villard said.
    According to the last census, there are 60,000 gay couples living together in Brazil.
    Social and religious dynamics across South America's largest country have shifted drastically in recent decades, yet, even though the proportion of the Brazilian population which is Catholic has dropped from 92 percent in 1970 to 65 percent now, it is still the largest Catholic country in the world.
    For many, same-sex marriage remains an issue of contention.
    Auxiliary Bishop with the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, Dom Antonio Augusto, spoke about what he believes the true definition of marriage is and its place in society.
    "Marriage, properly put, is between man and woman. Comparatively you could apply this [marriage] to to other realities, other unions, but only analogically. Because the term [of marriage] is unequivocal and applies to the union between man and woman. That is the basis of humanity and the moral and social development of the world in which we are living," Augusto said.
    Gay rights groups welcomed the Brazilian decision and said it added global momentum in favor of gay marriage following the approval of same-sex nuptials in three U.S. states this month.
    According to Freedom to Marry, a New York-based group working for same-sex marriage rights in the United States, when gay marriage legislation passed earlier this year in Uruguay, France and New Zealand takes effect, same-sex couples will be able to marry in 17 countries around the world.
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