Despite New Civil Union Law Discrimination Against Gays Will Go on in Brazil

Gay couple Brazil has finally taken a huge step towards the non-discrimination of gay-union. The country’s Supreme Federal Court has recognized that gay unions should not only be granted the same rights as a straight couples, but also the same protection under the law. 

This was a big victory for a discriminated group, which has suffered for decades, being ostracized by the Brazilian media, besides lacking protection and being object of violence.
 
Within the family realm gay couples will be able from now on not only to adopt the same family name, but  also to declare taxes as a couple, and have gay partners as dependent on family health plans and even adopt children. The same rights would apply when a partner is held in custody in prison and in case  of inheritance.
 
According to  Civil Rights Professor  Hércules Benício, notary offices across the country now will be required to provide documents stating that such unions are stable, relevant and true.

The couple will only have to prove that the relationship is ongoing and stable, which should be enough to consider it as a de-facto union.  The Catholic Church, as expected, criticized such decision despite the existence of scores of homosexual priests. 
 
In Brazil, there is a law  already in place – law  122 – which establishes that any action that would lead homophobia. should be treated as a criminal case. Nonetheless, almost a month ago, I myself was victim of  verbal abuse and physical violence  by two police officers of the  municipality of Cotia, in the Greater São Paulo area.

According to them, my crime was leaving a night club in the company of a man, not a woman. Their reasoning is if you leave a night club with a man, this man must be your boyfriend, and therefore you are gay and gays must be killed and extinguished.  

I celebrate the fact that Brazil is finally recognizing the rights of all minority groups, but I doubt that while  the police keep acting in such a discriminatory way, it is very unlikely that any law
will work out in the country.
 
The Catholic Church, through its major institution the CNBB (Confederação Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil – National Confederation of Brazilian Bishops) declared that only a straight union should be considered stable but refused to comment on the number of homicides occurring to homosexuals in Brazil each year. 

Edison Bernardo DeSouza is a journalist, having graduated in Social Communication the Studies at Pontifical Catholic University in São Paulo, Brazil. He lived in the US and Canada for close to 12 years and participated in volunteering activities in social works agencies. DeSouza currently lives in São Paulo where he teaches English as a Second Language for both private English Language Institute and Private High-School. He is  currently  participating  as an actor in two  English-language Musicals  in São Paulo – Brazil and is pursuing further advancements in his career. He is particularly interested in economics, history, politics and human rights articles.

Tags:

You May Also Like

Brazil’s Lula Makes Defense of Democracy Before Chavez

South American integration is "advancing fast and with our own resources," said Brazilian president ...

11.4 Million Families in Brazil Make Less than US$ 36 a Month

The Brazilian government and the institutions that oversee federal spending formalized a partnership, January ...

Progressive Rock & Jazz Fusion – A Short History

Progressive Rock is an elusive term applied to that type of rock music that ...

Law Students Interested in Human Rights Wanted for Volunteer Work in Brazil

The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights and Terra de Direitos are ...

Russians Check Experiments Brazilian Astronaut Is Taking into Space

When Brazil’s first astronaut, Air Force lieutenant colonel Marcos Pontes, goes into space at ...

Bolivia’s President Elect in Brazil to Discuss South American Unity

The president-elect of Bolivia, Evo Morales, is arriving in Brazil today. He will be ...

The Official Word on Vietnam President’s Visit to Brazil

The Brazilian and the Vietnam governments have issued a joint communiqué at the end ...

10,000 Brazilian Troops on War Games to Defend Brazil’s Oil and Nukes

Thousands of Brazilian military men have been very active. Brazil is holding military exercises ...

ATW Magazine’s Aviation Award Goes to Brazil’s Embraer

Brazilian Embraer’s Executive Vice-President for Engineering and Development, Satoshi Yokota accepted Air Transport World ...

Brazilian Indians Want UN Declaration Applied to Them

Sixty one indigenous people from Brazil and other Latin American countries met in BrasÀ­lia ...