On the night of the Brazilian election, Bianca Gama cried as it became clear that the country’s next president would be Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right politician whose career has been marked by homophobia.

As the official result was announced, Gama’s girlfriend Priscilla Cicconi turned to her and said: “You were right. We should get married – before he takes office. Let’s do it.”

Gama and Cicconi were not the only ones to make such a decision: faced with a homophobic president-elect with close alliances to evangelical and Catholic churches, LGBT people in Brazil are rushing to claim hard-earned rights such as marriage equality and name and gender changes.

One notary association said that so far this year there had been a 25% increase in same-sex marriages in Brazil, and a 42% increase in São Paulo, the country’s largest city, compared with last year.

Some couples and organizations are also planning collective weddings. One LGBT shelter in São Paulo has raised enough money to pay legal fees and throw a party for 100 same-sex couples later this month.

The same shelter has also raised funds to pay notary fees for 150 trans people who are rushing to legally change their names and gender before Bolsonaro takes office. Read more via the Guardian