Recognition of same-sex unions in Brazil
| Legal recognition of same-sex relationships |
||
|---|---|---|
| Same-sex marriage | ||
|
|
||
| Recognized in some regions | ||
| United States(MA) |
||
| International recognition | ||
| Israel United States(NY) |
||
| Civil unions and domestic partnerships |
||
|
||
| Recognized in some regions | ||
|
Argentina ( |
||
| Unregistered co-habitation | ||
|
|
||
| Recognition debated | ||
|
||
| Civil unions legal, same-sex marriage debated |
||
|
|
||
| See also | ||
|
Same-sex marriage |
||
There is continued debate in the Brazilian legislative and judicial branches about the legal status of same-sex
couples[citation needed]. While there has been a bill
in Congress since 1995 which aims to estabilish same-sex civil unions[citation needed], which has never been put to a vote[citation needed], a 2006 decision by the Supremo
Tribunal de Justiça[citation needed] states that same-sex couples are de facto partners, which have less
rights than civil unions[citation needed].
Court rulings
Except for the State of Rio Grande do Sul, which allows same-sex civil unions, no other State law allows nor forbids them. Marriage is a federal matter and States can't legislate on this. Federal Law and the federal Constitution ignore same-sex couples, not recognizing nor forbidding their recognition, except for the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman. As the debate in the states and the Congress goes on, some rights have been given to same-sex couples as a result of court decisions since 1998.
These rights granted through judicial decisions cover matters such as inheritance[citation needed], immigration[citation needed], and state pension and welfare benefits[citation needed]. Brazil allows homosexual couples the right to inherit each other's pension and social security benefits[citation needed].
Civil unions, de facto partnerships, "stable unions" under commonlaw and actual marriage are the four "categories" for a relationship in Brazil. No same-sex couple is yet considered married in Brazil, but there are varying levels of debate about the other categories.
Homosexual Brazilians who can prove that their relationship is a "stable union" will be treated by the National Social Security Institute no differently than a married couple in cases of retirement or death[citation needed]. However, there is not a consensus about the definition of stable union[citation needed]. The policy also allows people in same-sex relationships to declare their partners as dependents on income tax returns[citation needed]. The National Social Security Institute's policy change is the result of a recent court ruling[citation needed]. Brazil allows foreign partners of its homosexual citizenry to receive residency permits[citation needed].
On July 12, 2005 a São Paulo judge ruled that same-sex couples can adopt children[citation needed]. It is believed the case is the first in Brazil where a gay couple has been allowed to jointly adopt a child[citation needed].
Joao Gilberto Gonçalves, a federal prosecutor, has filed a Public Civil Action in July 2005 charging the country's prohibition of same-sex marriage as being opposed to the 1988 constitution[citation needed], which outlaws "prejudice as to origin, race, sex, colour, age and any other forms of discrimination." The 99-page [1] Action document mentions several court rulings and newspaper reports on gay rights. The court ruling decided the matter was not to be decided in court: it should rather be settled by Congress [citation needed]. Had the prosecutor's arguments been accepted by the judge, the decision would have immediately allowed same-sex marriage in all Brazilian states[citation needed].
The state of Rio de Janeiro gives same-sex benefits to the partners of government employees[citation needed].
Bill No. 1151
A bill on gay civil unions has been introduced in Congress: former congresswoman Marta Suplicy bill project 1151 aims to change federal law in order to establish same-sex civil unions[citation needed]. The bill had been pending in the House since 1995 and was the theme of the 2005 São Paulo Gay Pride Parade[citation needed]. The bill has been debated many times[citation needed], but has never been brought to a vote. Then-Speaker of the House Severino Cavalcanti was expected to end debate and bring the bill to a vote in late 2005, but corruption charges forced his resignation.[citation needed] Despite the anticipated vote, Calvalcanti strongly opposed the bill.
Civil Unions in Rio Grande do Sul
The Brazilian state of
Notes
- ^ http://www.prsp.mpf.gov.br/taubate/acp/acp_casamento.pdf Full text of the Ação Civil Pública asking the recognition of same-sex marriage in Brazil (Portuguese)
- ^ Brazilian go-ahead for gay unions, BBC News, 5 March 2004
External links
- (English) [1] — Full text of Bill Project 1151 (Unofficial Translation)
See also
- LGBT rights in Brazil
- Marriage, unions and partnerships by country
- LGBT rights by country
- Timeline of LGBT history
- Homosexuality laws of the world
| Civil unions in South America | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sovereign states | Argentina · Bolivia · Brazil · Chile · Colombia · Ecuador · Guyana · Panama* · Paraguay · Peru · Suriname · Trinidad and Tobago* · Uruguay · Venezuela | |
| Dependencies | Aruba* (Netherlands) · Falkland Islands (UK) · French Guiana (France) · Netherlands Antilles* (Netherlands) · South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (UK) | |
| * Territories also in or commonly reckoned elsewhere in the Americas (North America). | ||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)



