LGBTQ rights in Paraná

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people in the Brazilian state of Paraná enjoy many of the same legal protections available to non-LGBTQ people. Homosexuality is legal in the state, as well as throughout the country, since 1830.^[1]

Legality of same-sex sexual activity

In 1830, Brazilian Emperor Pedro I sanctioned the Imperial Penal Code, removing all references to sodomy from Brazilian law.^[1]

Same-sex marriage

In 2004, the first case of recognition of same-sex unions in Brazil occurred with a binational Englishman and a Brazilian. This legal precedent encouraged other couples to marry around the country. At the time of the ceremony, in the form of common-law marriage, this was a status that, until then, was only granted to opposite-sex couples. The couple had lived together for fourteen years, in the Brazilian city of Curitiba.^[2]

On 26 March 2013, the General Inspector of Justice of Paraná ruled that same-sex marriage and conversion of the stable unions to marriage should be possible using the normal marriage procedures.^[3]

Adoption and parenting

May 14, 2009 − a gay couple was the first to win in court the right of adoption in the Brazilian State of Paraná. A decision of the 2nd Court of Childhood, Youth and Adoption, changed the life of a homosexual couple who live in Curitiba. Two years previously, the gay couple had attempted to adopt a child. They had their request granted by a judge who ruled that the couple were living in a stable and affectionate union, and were able to raise a child of either sex and age in a healthy environment.^[4]

October 27, 2010 − the Justice of the city of Cascavel, Paraná, authorized the adoption of an eight-year-old child with cerebral palsy by a gay couple who had been living together for twelve years. The authorization is irreversible, according to Judge Sergio Luiz Kreuz, who granted the application for adoption based on the decision of the Superior Court of Justice.^[5]

September 16, 2011 - the Justice of the city of Maringá, Paraná authorized the adoption of two children by a lesbian couple.^[6]

Gender identity and expression

In 2023, the Court of Justice of Paraná (TJPR) published a provision that guarantees the inclusion of the term "non-binary" in the gender marker of the Civil Registry.^[7] However, in November of the same year, the Court revoked this provision, establishing that the right to administrative replacement of first name and sex in civil registration does not cover the possibility of expanding genders, limited to "male" and "female".^[8]

In January 2024, a public civil action by the Federal Court of Paraná determined that the Federal Revenue must include the options "unspecified", "non-binary" and "intersex" in the sex field of the CPF, guaranteeing the right to rectification to those who interest.^[9]