After Itamaraty granted diplomatic passports to six leaders of Evangelical Churches, the Brazilian Association of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transvestites and Transsexuals (ABGLT) sent a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antônio Patriota, demanding the same right.
"Given that ABGLT also operates internationally, having consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, in addition to working in partnership with various bodies of the Federal Government, we have requested that diplomatic passports be granted to members in the same way of ABGLT", says the letter sent by email.
"Of course, the rule says that this passport is exceptional. But, if they are going to give it to all evangelical pastors, we want it too. And we want it with their respective spouses, as well as bishops and pastors", said Toni Reis, president of ABGLT , to the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo.
If the benefit is not granted, the Public Prosecutor's Office will be contacted by the association. "We want equality. Neither less nor more, equal rights", explains Toni.
ABGLT requests that 14 of its members receive a diplomatic passport. The association's objective is "to carry out work to promote and defend the human rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transvestites and transsexuals in the 75 countries where being LGBT is a crime and in the seven countries where there is the death penalty for LGBT people".
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it has not yet analyzed the request, but that, like other requests made formally, it will analyze it.
Evangelical power
This week, six religious leaders received the benefit. Romildo Ribeiro Soares – the famous RRSoares on television – and Maria Magdalena Bezerra Soares, from the International Church of the Grace of God, Samuel Cássio Ferreira and Keila Campos Costa, from the Evangelical Church Assembly of God, and the apostle Valdemiro Santiago de Oliveira and his wife, Franciléia de Castro Gomes de Oliveira, from the Worldwide Church of the Power of God.
The diplomatic passport, which is valid for 1 year, allows exclusive access to the entry queue at some airports and makes it easier to obtain visas for some countries. Treatment for those who have the document is usually less strict than for Brazilians who have a common passport.
