May 14, 2013

Marriage equality

Brazilian Flag

By Jacob Combs

Brazil’s National Council of Justice (CNJ), a top judicial panel, ruled today that same-sex couples across the country cannot be denied a marriage license, and that government officials must provide such licenses when they are requested.

The new development, first reported by the newspaper O Globo, would bring to an end the legal maneuvering same-sex couples faced in several Brazilian states after a 2011 Supreme Federal Court decision ruling that gays and lesbians can enter into legal unions. After that ruling, couples throughout the country were able to seek a judge’s approval to convert their ‘stable union’ into a full marriage.

Since Brazil has a federal political system similar to the United States, individual states were allowed to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples that would allow them to automatically convert their stable unions without going before a judge. Several states have amended their laws in this way, the most recent being Rio de Janeiro in late April.

In its 14-1 ruling, the CNJ wrote that the Supreme Court “affirmed that the expression of homosexuality and homosexual affection cannot serve as a basis for discriminatory treatment, which has no support in the Constitution,” according to Agence France-Presse. The decision was authored by Joaquim Barbosa, who heads the CNJ and is also the chief justice of the Supreme Court. The CNJ’s decision can still be appealed to the high court.

Brazilian legislators are currently considering a bill that would officially legalize marriage for same-sex couples. In its decision, however, the CNJ said that there was no reason to delay offering marriage licenses to couples while the Brazilian Congress considers marriage equality legislation.

Experts weigh in on Prop 8 at the Supreme Court Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signs marriage...