On May 5, 2011, Brazil's Supreme Court ruled that the nation must afford civil unions equivalent to marriage to all LGBT couples seeking such legal status and corresponding rights. Thus, by a single ruling, Brazil rocketed ahead of the United States in providing civil law equality to all of its citizens. And Brazil accomplished this legal sea change despite the strident lobbying of the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy and similar groups that hold disdain for the religious freedoms of anyone but themselves and their equally prejudiced followers/adherents. The Guardian looks at the changing situation for LGBT Brazilians and clearly there is more progress to be made. However, compared to the USA - which frankly is increasingly a false beacon of liberty and religious freedom - Brazil has joined what I believe will be the wave of the future that will make Brazil increasingly competitive in global competition for the best and the brightest talent. Here are some story highlights:*
The 5 May 2011 was an historic day for the rights of lesbians and gay men in Brazil. The country's supreme court ruled unanimously that partnerships between same-sex couples must be recognised as being equal in every legal aspect to partnerships between unmarried heterosexual couples. Prior to the ruling some, but not all, public notaries would register a document stating that the couple lived together. Such documents did not, however, have guaranteed legal value, were subject to interpretation and could be disregarded.
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All notaries are now obliged to register, when requested, same-sex partnerships as a legally recognised "family entity", just as they do with heterosexual couples. This opens the way for a series of rights previously denied to same-sex couples in Brazil, such as joint adoption of children, inheritance, the consideration of both partners' income when applying for loans or mortgages or the right for one partner to take decisions regarding the other's medical treatment in cases of incapacity. The ruling also brings obligations that did not previously exist for same-sex couples in the event of separation.
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The executive branch of the federal government has also made considerable progress in implanting affirmative policies for the LGBT population, starting with the Brazil Without Homophobia programme in 2004. In 2008, the president convened the first national LGBT conference, preceded by LGBT conferences in all 27 of the country's states. The conference's recommendations were systematised into the national plan to promote LGBT citizenship and human rights, launched in 2009. Also in 2009, the federal government created an LGBT department within the structure of its human rights secretariat. More recently, in March this year, the national LGBT council was created, having 15 governmental and 15 non-governmental members. The council's role is to guide and assist in the formulation of public policies for the LGBT population and to act as a "watchdog" over their implementation.
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But much still needs to be done to improve tolerance of sexual diversity. A large national Unesco survey in secondary schools in 2004 found that 40% of male students would not like to study in the same classroom as an LGBT student, and 35% of parents shared the same restriction. More recent surveys have confirmed this data. There are no official national statistics on homophobic violence, but NGO monitoring of media crime pages shows that on average one LGBT person is murdered every two days in Brazil because of their sexuality. Although this figure must be considered proportionately to the overall high number of murders nationwide, it is nevertheless alarming and unacceptable.
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Other priorities on the agenda of the LGBT movement in Brazil, yet to be conquered, include a law to prohibit and punish homophobic discrimination and a law allowing transgender persons to change their forenames in keeping with their gender identity. We hope that the example given by the supreme court last week will spur the national congress into taking action.
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As the much of the modern world moves forward towards full equality, the USA languishes behind the curve as the most toxic version of Christianity continues to trample unfettered by the federal laws on the rights of others. Will the USA change course? Or is the best thing for those like myself to make the decision to simply leave and go elsewhere where I will not be a second, third or fourth class citizen? The spinelessness of American politicians doesn't instill me with a lot of hope for change in this country. At least not in the near term.
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