Brazil's Supreme Appeals Court rule that lesbian pair can legally marry

Gay activists in Brazil are celebrating today after a senior appeals court upheld that a lesbian couple can legally marry.

Gay activists in Brazil are celebrating today after a senior appeals court upheld that a lesbian couple can legally marry.
It is the highest court in Brazil to uphold a same-sex marriage – and comes less than six months after the South American country first granted civil unions.
The bid was part of a wider protest which saw several couples apply for full marriage licenses, not just civil partnerships.
The pair, like many others, previously had their applications blocked at two earlier stages in lower courts, but – in a 4-1 vote yesterday – the Supreme Appeals Court ruled that the Constitution "makes it possible for stable civil unions to become marriages".

According to the Associated Foreign Press, the court also added that: "sexual orientation should not serve as a pretext for excluding families from the legal protection that marriage represents."
Equality advocates hope the ruling will help relax attitudes in South America and influence neighbouring countries.

In Latin America, gay marriage is legal in Argentina and Mexico City.