Brazil Appears To Have Legalized Marriage Equality Nationwide

It appears as if a court decision in Brazil may have legalized marriage equality nationwide.The New York Times reports:

RIO DE JANEIRO — The council overseeing Brazil’s judiciary ruled on Tuesday that notary publics cannot refuse to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies, a decision that opens the way for gay couples across Latin America’s largest country to marry. 

The move by the National Council of Justice, a 15-member panel led by Joaquim Barbosa, the chief justice of the nation’s high court, effectively legalizes gay marriage throughout Brazil, legal scholars here said. The decision follows legislation in twoneighboring countries, Argentina and Uruguay, where lawmakers have managed to pass bills authorizing same-sex marriage nationwide in recent years.

Previously it was known that in 13 of Brazil's 26 states and the federal district same-sex couples could have their civil unions converted into marriages, but this action makes it appear as if anywhere in the country a same-sex couple can not be denied registration of their civil marriage.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God