An issue of sexual citizenship: Accessing same-sex marriage in Brazil

Abstract

The institution of marriage must be available to all citizens, irrespective of their sexual orientation, otherwise we have a case of discrimination, forbidden by the Constitution. Jurisprudence in Brazil has used analogy to recognize stable unions between same sex couples, even if the Constitution foresees stable unions as being "between a man and a woman." Such legal interpretation must be widened, ensuring same-sex marriage. From the juridical viewpoint then, it is a matter of securing a right that gays and lesbians already have, the right to be accepted and not suffer discrimination. It is not a matter of creating a new, specific, 'gay' or 'lesbian' right. Those who claim the need for a specific law regulating same-sex marriage seem to ignore the fact that the regulation of heterosexual and homosexual marriage must be rigorously the same in both cases.