A public notary in Sao Paulo, Brazil, has granted two women and a man the right to live together in a civil union.

The trio insist they love each other as equals. They claim they are like any other non-married, co-habiting couple.

They now have some of the legal benefits of marriage, but not all. The third person can't be a legal parent to a child conceived by the others.

Meanwhile, the three-way civil union is setting off a strong backlash in the South American nation.

"My question is: what are these law holders driving at? What is the media driving at? What are these groups driving at by confronting the society with totally distorted values?" Verdade Gospel quoted Brazilian psychologist and Christian Marisa Lobo.

Religious rights groups say the union is not valid since Brazilian law defines marriage as a union between two people and polygamy is illegal.