Before I start, I want to say that I will try to remain neutral on the subject. The idea is to present to you an issue that interests you (or at least should interest everyone) and is on the internet, spreading the word, asking someone to address it. Therefore, from now on, a serious and “impartial”, journalist type (with a degree?) will follow below a brief description of the process of creating laws in our country.
“The bill presented in one of the houses of the National Congress [Federal Senate or Chamber of Deputies], if approved, is sent for consideration and voting in the other house, which may amend it, and after voting, it is returned to the house of origin that will consider the amendment, finally the bill goes to the President of the Republic for sanction, who may veto it in whole or in part, or may sanction it, which after its promulgation will become law.”
Ana Carmen Rocha.
Taina Vasconcelos.
The website of the Chamber of Deputies (http://www2.camara.gov.br/) offers a search tool where you can search for bills, proposals, complaints, requests and many other documents. You can search by author, date and subject. A brief search with words such as: homosexuality, GLBT, GLS, gays, homosexuals, homosexual returned results with plenty of material.
This search generated a total of 84 documents including bills, indications, draft legislative decrees, requests, suggestions and separate votes. Among all these files, it is worth highlighting that 56 are archived. Most of the results are related to seminars, requests for investigation or interference in some type of event such as the murder of 15 homosexuals in the state of Rio Grande do Sul or the release of 18 homosexuals sentenced to death in Nigeria, in addition to the suggestion that the Ministry of International Relations congratulates former president George W. Bush on his statement against same-sex marriage.
Among the most recurrent texts are the creation of police stations specializing in crimes and prejudice against homosexuals; the establishment as heinous of crimes committed due to prejudice against sexual orientation; the removal of the text “homosexual or not”, with regard to pederasty. It is worth noting that only the latter is not archived, awaiting processing.
The remaining documents address the most diverse subjects, such as, for example, the authorization of civil unions between people of the same sex and the right to have a partner of the same sex as a dependent or beneficiary, in health plans, legal and tax issues. Adoption between same-sex couples is also on the agenda and there are two bills that seek to prohibit two people of the same sex from adopting children. Civil union, in turn, has seven approaches: five archived, one against, which is awaiting processing, and another, in favor, is ready to enter the voting agenda.
Issues such as making “lewd kissing between people of the same sex in public” a criminal misdemeanor and the creation of “a program to aid and assist the sexual reorientation of people who voluntarily choose to abandon homosexuality” are also highlighted points.
As already explained, there are many different subjects, each with different processes and different objectives. To get a better idea of them all, or to know some specific ones, a good tip is to visit the website. There you can select the processes you want to follow and receive updates about their progress/progress via email.
