Brazil Court OKs Gay Adoption

This is so cool! Of course, in the state of oranges and good old bankrupt Anita Bryant, even a single gay person cannot adopt - much less as a couple. So, the original Catholic country of the New World is more enlightened than the country where people flew to avoid persecution???

Hmmmmm.

From 365gay.com:

Sao Paulo, Brazil) A judge in Sao Paulo has ruled that there is no valid reason for denying a same-sex couple the right to adopt children. It is believed the case is the first in Brazil where a gay couple has been allowed to jointly adopt a child.

Vasco Pereira da Gama, 33, and Dorival Pereira de Carvalho, 41, have been fighting for the right adopt for five months. The couple has been together for 13 years and owns a model agency and beauty salon according to Radio Brazil.

The men met with a psychologist, social assistants and a public prosecutor before going to court.

In his ruling, Judge Julio Cesar Spoladore Domingos cited a policy statement by the Psychology Council which declared that "homosexuality was not a disease, a disturbance or a perversion."

The couple's lawyer, Everaldo Galvao, said that although gays have been allowed to adopt in the past it is the first time a court has permitted a couple to adopt and become joint parents.

Gama and Carvalho told Brazil Radio they want to adopt a little girl between the ages of two and four.

In Brazil, civil unions between same-sex couples are allowed in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. In January, a federal prosecutor asked a judge to order courts across Brazil to perform gay marriages. The judge has not yet ruled on the petition.

©365Gay.com 2005