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Brazil: Senator will defy government by calling for vote on LGBT discrimination bill

Dec 18 2013
Written by Rochelle Sampy

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a pink background.

A Brazilian Labor Party legislator will call for a vote on an LGBT discrimination bill on Wednesday, ignoring written warnings against it by the Minister for Institutional Relations who wants the vote to take place after the presidential election.

Government Minister Ideli Salvatti explicitly advised Senator Ana Rita against voting on the bill before the election as it could damage President Dilma Rousseff’s re-election chances.

The bill would criminalise discrimination or inciting violence on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, increasing prison sentences by three years.

This year, 292 LGBT individuals were murdered in Brazil while campaign group Grupo Gay De Bahia stated that 44% of the world’s anti-LGBT attacks occurs in this country, with a single LGBT person killed every 21 hours.

In May, the Brazilian National Council of Justice cleared the way for same-sex marriage across the country by ruling that gay couples can not be denied the right to marry.