Same-sex marriage in Brazil
The Court ruled that the Constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry and that the current Civil Code does not prohibit the marriage of two people of the same sex.
Before the nationwide legalisation in May 2013, the states of Alagoas,[10] Bahia,[10][11] Ceará, Espírito Santo, Mato Grosso,[12] Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraíba, Paraná,[13][14] Piauí, Rondônia, Santa Catarina, São Paulo,[15][16] and Sergipe, as well as the Federal District and the city of Santa Rita do Sapucaí,[17][18] had already legalized same-sex marriages and several stable unions were converted into marriages by state judges.
According to the Foreign Ministry, the measure must ensure that employees register their same-sex partners to secure their right to stay outside the country.
[28] Also in 2010, the state-owned Infraero (Brazilian Company of Airport Infrastructure) began recognizing stable unions between same-sex couples for the purposes of granting benefits.
The decision was approved 10–0; one judge abstained because he had previously spoken publicly in favor of same-sex unions when he was attorney general.
The ruling resulted in stable unions for same-sex couples having the same financial and social rights enjoyed by those in heterosexual relationships.
[30] The ruling came in response to two lawsuits, one filed by the Rio de Janeiro State Government in 2008 and another in 2009 by the Public Prosecutor's Office.
Same-sex couples can officially register their relationships as a stable union by proving that they have a shared bank account or live at the same address, etc.
[32][33][34] Villas Boas, who is also a church pastor of the Assembleia de Deus, claimed that recognizing same-sex unions was unconstitutional.
[35] On 21 June, another judge, Beatriz Figueiredo Franco, cancelled Villas Boas' decision, making the union valid again.
[37] On 7 June 2013, the Brazilian Air Force recognized the stable union of a sergeant and his partner after he presented a notarized deed documenting their relationship.
In May 2011, the Supreme Federal Court ruled that the present law allowed for same-sex couples to formalize their relationship in the form of a stable union.
The Court ruled that the Constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry and that the current Civil Code does not prohibit the marriage of two people of the same sex.
On 21 May 2013, the Social Christian Party (PSC) lodged an appeal against the National Justice Council's decision with the Supreme Federal Court.
The party alleged that the council had committed an abuse of power, arguing that legalising same-sex marriage was a matter exclusively for the National Congress to decide.
[45][46] On 28 August 2013, the Procuradoria Geral da República (Attorney General), as well as the Cabinet of Brazil under President Dilma Rousseff, forwarded an opinion in favor of same-sex marriage to the Supreme Court.
[50] A Brazilian legislative commission for human rights recommended in October 2013 a measure that would ensure that religious bodies would not be required to solemnize same-sex marriages.
The proposal was to have been brought forward in Brazil's National Congress if it was approved by a constitutional committee, though no such action was taken prior to the 2014 elections.
On 13 November 2024, the Human Rights Committee of the Chamber of Deputies approved a bill that codifies same-sex marriage into federal civil law.
These two-spirit individuals are born male but typically wear women's clothing and perform everyday household work and artistic handiwork which are regarded as belonging to the feminine sphere.
[100] According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted between 4 November 2013 and 14 February 2014, 45% of Brazilians supported same-sex marriage and 48% were opposed.
