7 times when the evangelical parliamentary front hindered the processing of queer community projects
The most traditional evangelical wing in the National Congress, not content with distorting biblical passages to condemn homosexuals in their religious temples, acts even more aggressively by attacking the rights of our community using political means. A clan known as the “evangelical bench”, a term used by the press and political scientists to group together members of state and municipal legislatures who call themselves “Christians in favor of the family”.
They also defend agendas in order to threaten or hinder the fundamental rights of each individual and, often, facilitate and promote segregation and violence against others.
It is almost contradictory to read the beginning of this report, since those who carry the Bible under their arm should fight for the good of “their neighbor” or “love their brother”, but that is not what happens. In fact, far from it! This is a true persecution against the LGBT+ community and, when they do not just persecute, they threaten and hinder in every way possible bills that could facilitate or guarantee the rights to combat discrimination against this population.
1 – In 2011, evangelicals in the Senate blocked the bill that criminalized homophobia. Led by Senator Magno Malta, the complementary bill 122/06 was blocked and subsequently withdrawn from the agenda. Only in 2019, after many attempts and struggles, eight years later we succeeded and the determination was linked to the Racism Law (7716/89), which provides for crimes of discrimination or prejudice based on “race, color, ethnicity, religion and national origin”. The practice of the law includes acts of “discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity”. Therefore, even though the term homophobia is used to define this law, all other LGBTQIA+ people are covered.
3 – Another extremely important bill that is currently stalled is Bill 7292/2017, known as the “Dandara Law,” in honor of the 42-year-old transvestite from Ceará, Dandara dos Santos, who was murdered on February 15, 2017, beaten in the street and then shot to death. The bill, which aims to include LGBTcide in the list of heinous crimes, was created by Congresswoman Luizianne Lins in 2017 and is awaiting analysis and opinion from the Human Rights Commission. The proposal has been under consideration for seven years since its creation and has been stalled since December 2023. One of the people who most hindered the progress of this bill was Congressman SÓSTENES CAVALCANTE, who declares himself a “defender of life and family” on his social media.
4- In 2019, a bill authored by Congresswoman Beatriz Cerqueira called Plano 21 was proposed, which aimed to create and implement an educational program to combat discrimination motivated by prejudice based on sexual orientation, gender identity, sexism, racism, beliefs, LGBTphobia (…) or any other type of discrimination. It aimed to include measures against discrimination in schools in Minas Gerais, but was vetoed and excluded by the state’s Christian caucus. Then-Congressman João Leite used passages from the Bible to say that it was an “abomination”. In the end, the bill was EXCLUDED.
5- Another bill PL 3109/2023 that is stagnant in the Commission on Human Rights, Minorities and Racial Equality (CDHMIR), is the project by deputy Erika Hilton that makes it possible to reserve places for trans and transvestite people in federal universities and other federal higher education institutions. However, the project presented in June 2023 is still awaiting pending opinions and there has been no manifestation.
6 – Bill 81/21 prohibits acts of racism or acts against the LGBT population in sports venues, such as football stadiums, athletics tracks and multi-sports gyms, and was created by then-deputy Alexandre Frota. Something that is so urgent and necessary, given that cases have been increasing more and more in Brazil, has seen several scenes worthy of a true horror show that have harmed the Points of Order in these 7 years that it has been in process. Deputy Chris Tonietto was the one who most hindered, questioned and had her review period ended. Finally, this bill is stagnant since the Rapporteur, Deputy Orlando Silva, is no longer a member of the Human Rights Committee.
Something that really caught my attention while I was doing my research to write this report was that, according to data obtained through the Transparência Brasil website, most of the parliamentarians who participate in the evangelical bloc are targets of legal proceedings in the Electoral Court and in the STF.
For various crimes, such as: embezzlement, administrative impropriety (act contrary to the basic principles of public administration) and tax evasion.
*Artur Vieira is a Christian, gay and journalist who has worked with the LGBT public since 2013 on the internet with the profile “Back to the Kingdom”.
Source: Maxima
I am an experienced author and journalist with a passion for lifestyle journalism. I currently work for Buna Times, one of the leading news websites in the world. I specialize in writing stories about health, wellness, fashion, beauty, interior design, and more. My articles have been featured on major publications such as The Guardian and The Huffington Post.