Mass Ceremony in Rio Celebrates Same-Sex Unions

Nearly a hundred same-sex couples in Rio de Janeiro legalized their unions -- to a status just shy of marriage in the Latin American country -- in a group ceremony Sunday, local media reported.

The 92 couples pledged themselves to "stable unions," though the G1 web site noted the ceremony was mainly symbolic, as they will have have to repeat their vows Monday in front of a judge.

Held at the Rio courthouse, the mass celebration "pays an old debt with a segment of the population that is the target of so much prejudice and discrimination," Claudio Nascimento, head of a Rio gay rights group, told the site.

In May 2011, the Brazilian Supreme Court recognized the "stable union" of same-sex couples as a family. Since then, several courts have recognized such unions as civil marriage.