Brazilian judicial council orders notaries to recognize same-sex marriage

(CNN) — The Brazilian National Council of Justice, which oversees the nation’s judiciary, passed a resolution Tuesday that denies notaries the right to refuse to perform same-sex marriages. In Brazil, notaries officiate marriages and civil unions. Recently, 12 Brazilian states began allowing same-sex couples to marry or convert their civil unions into marriages. However, since…

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Vietnam on the brink: talk of legalizing same-sex marriage intensifies

VIETNAM — In what some are arguably calling the latest (and most controversial) salvo in the same-sex marriage debate, Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Viet Tien will deliver a speech today in Hanoi that calls for the immediate repeal on the ban on same-sex marriage. “[A]s human beings, homosexuals have the same rights as everyone else…

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And then there were three: Tim Johnson backs same-sex marriage

(CNN) — Sen. Tim Johnson, D-South Dakota, on Monday joined the wave of senators from his party who are endorsing same-sex marriage for the first time. The third-term senator, who’s not seeking re-election next year, said in a statement his “views have evolved sufficiently to support marriage equality legislation.” “This position doesn’t require any religious…

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For now, Irish transgenders ineligible for birth certificate change

DUBLIN — In what the Irish government is calling a work ‘in progress,’ transgendered nationals are still banned from changing their birth certificate to reflect their new identities while those from other nations are not reports the Irish Times. “The General Registrar Office in Ireland will accept a birth certificate amended by another state where…

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Chief Justice Roberts’ lesbian cousin to attend same-sex marriage hearings

(CNN) — Jean Podrasky, a lesbian whose cousin happens to be Chief Justice John Roberts, will attend this week’s Supreme Court oral arguments on two cases dealing with same-sex marriage, CNN confirmed Monday. In an op-ed emailed to members of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Podrasky expressed optimism that her first cousin, a conservative,…

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