Brazil Celebrates First Gay Marriage
- By
- On Top Magazine Staff
- | June 28, 2011
In what is being described as the country's first gay marriage, a Brazilian state judge on Monday allowed a gay couple to convert their civil union (known as a stable relationship) into a marriage.
Sao Paulo state Judge Fernando Henrique Pinto okayed a request by Sergio Kauffman Sousa and Luiz Andre Moresi to convert their civil union into a full marriage.
Last month, Brazil's top court ruled gay and lesbian couples could not be denied a civil union, but stopped short of legalizing gay marriage. (Previously, civil unions for gay couples had been available in several regions.) Pinto said in a statement that he based his ruling on the Supreme Court's ruling and on Brazil's constitution, which allows a couple to convert a civil union into a legal marriage.
The gay rights group Associacao Brasileira de Gays, Lesbicas e Transgeneros (ABGLT) hailed the ruling, calling it the country's first gay marriage.
βIt's a great joy,β Sousa told Globo's television network G1. βI'm still trying to understand this historical moment.β
The men, who have been together 8 years, said they would apply for a marriage certificate on Tuesday.
Argentina last year became the first Latin American country to legalize gay marriage. It's also legal for gay couples to marry in the city-state of Mexico City. Mexico's Supreme Court has ruled that states must recognize the legal marriages of gay couples.