Source:
Washington PostBrazil’s high court ruled that same-sex civil unions must be recognized, a decision welcomed as a watershed by gay activists who also hope it will cool rising violence against homosexuals in Latin America’s most populous nation. (...)
In a vote late Thursday, all but one of the 11 Supreme Court justices backed civil union rights for same-sex couple. One justice abstained. (..)
Brazil’s constitution defines a “family entity” as “a stable union between a man and a woman.” But the attorney general’s office argued the clause is only a definition and not a limitation, and thus the charter does not say a stable union can “only” be between a man and a woman.
The attorney general also argued that the constitution does not specifically forbid a civil union between people of the same sex — and that failing to recognize same-sex unions violates the charter’s defenses of human dignity and equality.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/brazils-top-court-approves-same-sex-civil-unions-sets-precedent-for-gay-rights/2011/05/05/AFXJzv1F_story.html