Homophobia and transphobia are now crimes in Brazil after a majority of judges in the country’s Supreme Court voted in favor.
Six judges already voted in favor of the measure while the remaining five will vote in another session on June 5. While there is already a majority vote, the ruling will only take effect after all 11 judges have voted.
With the new ruling, homophobia and transphobia will be punished according to Brazil’s racism laws until such time that Congress enacts specific LGBTQ+ legislation.
Racism was made into a crime in 1989. Prison sentences of up to 5 years await those who are convicted of such a crime. In the two decades following the passing of the racism law, LGBTQ+ activists have been campaigning for protection under similar legislation but their efforts have been stymied by religious and conservative groups.
Brazil’s oldest homosexual human rights group, Grupo Gay da Bahia, lauded the Supreme Court decision, saying that it will give much-needed protection to LGBTQ+ people. Last year, 420 LGBTQ+ people were killed in Brazil while 141 have already been killed this year.
While Brazil houses the world’s largest Catholic community, youthful liberals are increasingly challenging the status quo by campaigning for LGBTQ+ rights.
Gay marriage was legalized in 2013 but with the election of President Jair Bolsonaro last year, a self-declared “proud homophobe,” the campaign for LGBTQ+ rights may face more hurdles. The president had stated that he would rather that his son is dead than be gay.
During an interview in April, he said: “If you want to come here and have sex with a woman, go for your life. But we can’t let this place become known as a gay tourism paradise. Brazil can’t be a country of the gay world, of gay tourism.”
A lot of LGBTQ+ groups still hold out hope because the ruling came even with Bolsonaro in power. Bruna Benevides, president of the Niteroi Diversity group, is hoping for protection with the Supreme Court’s ruling.
He told Al Jazeera: “(The ruling) Comes at a very good moment when we have a head of state who is LGBT-phobic. The Supreme Court assumed the responsibility to protect us.”
But Judge Luiz Fox, who was the sixth and deciding vote, cautioned that homophobia and transphobia did not end just because of the ruling.
The Independent quoted Fox as saying: “Parliament doesn’t act.
“There is no guarantee the bill will pass, and even if it does, it can be vetoed and homophobia will continue.
“The judiciary must act in defense of minorities against violence by the majority.”