Terms like “homosexual" e “pederasty” were vetoed from the Military Penal Code by the STF.
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The history of LGBT rights gains a new chapter, the Plenary of Federal Supreme Courtl (STF) determined that they be removed from the Military Penal Code (Decree-Law 1.001/1969) terms and expressions considered discriminatory towards homosexuals.
The decision affects article 235 of the legislation, which classified "pederasty or another act of libidination" as a crime, with a prison sentence of six months to one year.
Military personnel who practiced or allowed "libidinous acts, whether homosexual or not, in a place subject to military administration" were subject to conviction.
The STF's decision took into account different arguments from the Attorney General's Office (PGR) and the Attorney General of the Union (AGU).
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Initially, the PGR asked the court to declare unconstitutionality of the decree-law, with the argument that it was published in 1969, in a historical context marked by authoritarianism and intolerance to differences, in the midst of a military dictatorship. The AGU defended that the Attorney's Office's demand was partially accepted.
By eight votes to two, the AGU's understanding prevailed, for which the provision should not be totally invalidated, since the prohibition of the practice considered libidinous aims to guarantee that military installations are exclusively intended for the execution of "the purposes specific to the Armed Forces".
Furthermore, postulated by the Attorney General's Office, the rule preserves "military order, hierarchy and discipline, inseparable foundations of the functioning of the Armed Forces protected by the constitutional text itself".
On the other hand, the AGU considered the use of expressions and terms such as "pederasty" and "homosexual or not", in addition to being offensive to the constitutional precepts of equality, freedom, plurality and dignity of the human person.
To the public lawyerss, the elimination of the words from the decree-law "would in no way alter the scope of the criminal type under examination, which covers the practice of any and all libidinous acts carried out in an area subject to military administration".
Finally, the AGU recalled that the STF itself has already recognized the legal effectiveness of same-sex unions and that the principle of human dignity includes the right to sexual preference.
The ministers partially accepted the PGR's arguments, so that the legal provision would be maintained in the legal system. The decision, therefore, was based on the prevalence of the AGU's understanding of prejudiced words and expressions, which will be eliminated from that military legislation.
