On Location Brazil: Tough love for gays under DOMA

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil and NEW YORK, US — Here's a gay love story that could break your heart, thanks to DOMA.

American Alison Medina and Brazilian Michele Castro fell in love and got married in Rio de Janeiro. That was possible because the South American country's high court allowed same-sex unions in May 2011, making it the world's biggest country to do so.

That's not the deal in the United States, where the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA — until today — barred government recognition of same-sex marriages and whatever benefits may come along with it.

The couple had hoped to move to New York. They thought their marriage might even help Castro get a visa for the relocation. That wasn't happening.

But now that the US Supreme Court has struck down a key part of DOMA that denied federal benefits to same-sex couples, Medina says they are going to give the process another shot.

On Wednesday's news of the court ruling, Medina tells GlobalPost she can't stop crying — this time with happiness.

"I'm in shock and sobbing on the metro after hearing that DOMA has finally been defeated," she says, adding, "Today I am proud to be an American."

The above video was first published June 13.

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