personally this "scourge" which they consider "anti-African". Even in other countries where homosexuality is not considered a crime, persecutions have multiplied. In Brazil, for example, death squads and skin heads spread terror: 1,960 homophobic murders have been officially reported between 1980 and 2000. In these conditions, it is difficult to think that "tolerance" is gaining ground. On the contrary, in the majority of these nations, homophobia appears more violent today than ever before. The tendency is not, therefore, towards a general improvement, far from it. Family and Relationships · Adoption: 19 states allow gay and lesbian couples to adopt children in a complex and expensive twostep process, in which one parent first adopts and then the second can petition for joint rights. · Ceremonial Marriages: Same Sex Marriages may be officiated by church officials, or anyone
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