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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Divisive 'Homophobia' Bill Passes Senate Committee in Brazil


A Brazilian Senate Judiciary Committee, responsible for reviewing the Criminal Code, approved Friday a proposal to criminalize "homophobia" and other situations that can be considered discriminatory against homosexuals.

According the current wording of the bill, any person who discriminates based on gender, identity or sexual orientation as well as regional origin will face criminal charges. Under current laws only those who discriminate against another person because of race, color, ethnicity, religion or national origin can be prosecuted.

The new legislation's wording also proposes that any person discriminated against can request the commencement of legal proceedings at any time, even if the discriminatory act happened a long time ago. Moreover, under the proposals if the accused is arrested temporarily, controversially they will not have the right to be released on bail.

Under the new bill offenders can be given prison sentences of between two to five years. The penalty can be increased further if the offense is committed against a child or adolescent. Read more

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