SAO PAULO (BDCi) – Just days after New York passed gay marriage, a Brazilian judge has approved what is apparently the South American nation’s first gay marriage.
Sao Paulo state Judge Fernando Henrique Pinto ruled two men could convert their civil union into a full marriage. Brazil’s Supreme Court cleared the way in May for the recognition of same-sex civil unions, but stopped short of approving gay marriages.
A court statement said Pinto made the decision based on the top court’s ruling on civil unions and on Brazil’s constitution, which outlines how a civil union can be converted into a legal marriage.
Benjamin Polastri, a spokesman with the Sao Paulo state Attorney General’s Office, said it was not immediately clear if the ruling set a strong national precedent. Polastri also said the just-approved gay marriage was the first for South America’s biggest nation.
Pinto cited the Brazilian Constitution’s section on civil unions, literally referred to as “stable unions,” saying a couple “living together can, by mutual agreement and at any time, request the conversion of a stable union into a marriage.”
By: Adrianna Lobo Source: Fox News June 27, 2011
10:27 p.m. PST