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Legislature

In August 288, Brazil's lower house of Congress rejected part of a pending adoption law that would have allowed gay couples to adopt children [R1.1].

Government Instrumentalities

In January 2008, a transsexual woman and her partner lost their fight to keep their adopted baby [R2.1].

National

The age of consent is reported to be 14 years

Courts & Tribunals

In November 2003, a Brazilian court issued an unprecedented ruling giving a British man the right to a permanent visa based on his union with a Brazilian man [R1.1].

Courts & Tribunals

In January 2002, the lesbian partner of the late rock star Cassia Eller won temporary custody of Eller's son [R1.1].

States & Federal District

On 05 November 2001, Sao Paulo state law 10.948 was passed, penalising "attacks or discriminatory manifestations against homosexual, bisexual or transgender citizens" (Article 1). Public officers are specifically included as liable for such acts (Article 3) [R1.1].

Among the behaviors considered as such, Article 2 lists "restrictive" actions of a moral, ethical, philosophical or psychological nature".

Article 3 makes public officers liable, along with social organizations and businesses. Penalties range from a warning up to closure and fines. Public servants are also subjected to sanctions prescribed for them in the Statute for Public Servants.

In December 2001, the State Parliament of Minas Gerais, Brazil, has passed Law 694/99 which prescribes penalties for business, public servants and members of the general public who discriminate against others on the grounds of their sexual orientation and includes a specific provision stating that two people of the same sex have the right to show affection in public without being subjected to harassment or discrimination [R1.2].

In November 2001, the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, passed a groundbreaking measure opposing discrimination [R1.3].

Law 694/88 adds sexual orientation as a protected status to the existing protections against discrimination.

The bill will be voted on in a second session in about 10 days and then will have to be signed by Governor Itamar Franco.

There is a constitutional prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation in the States of Alagoas (1989), Mato Grosso (1989), Pará (2006), Santa Catarina (2002), Sergipe (1989) and the Federal District [R1.4].

Discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation is prohibited in the States of Bahia (1997), Minas Gerais (2002), Paraíba (2003), Rio de Janeiro (2001), Rio Grande do Sul (2002), Santa Catarina (2003), Sao Paulo (2001) and the Federal District (2000) [R1.4].

Cities & Towns

In December 2004, the mayor in southern Brazil who signed a decree barring gay people from entering his town has been indicted under antidiscrimination laws [R2.1].

In December 2003, the mayor of Bocaiuva do Sul in southern Parana state issued a decree barring homosexuals from moving to his town [R2.2].

In December 2000, the city council of Niteroi (Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil) passed an ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in public places and institutions as well as in business [R2.3].

National

Consensual sex between same-sex couples was decriminalised in 1831 [R1.1], or perhaps 1823 [R1.2].

It has been reported that military personnel who engage in gay sex can be sentenced to from six months to one year in prison.

Crime

In April 1999, the Bahia Gay Group (GGB) reported that there were 116 anti-gay murders in Brazil in 1998. Seventy-three of the victimes were gay men, 36 transvestites and 7 lesbians [R2.1].

National

In June 2000, in an action that gay groups describe as the first of its kind in Latin America, the Brazilian government has extended de facto legal recognition to same-sex relationships by granting such couples the right to inherit each other's pension and social security benefits [R1.1].

Courts & Tribunals

In January 2002, a court in Rio de Janeiro that the lesbian partner of the late rock star Cassia Eller had the right to inherit the recording artist's wealth and copyrights [R2.1].

In February 1998, Brazil's highest court granted a gay man inheritance rights from his partner in a landmark ruling in Brazil [R2.2].

Legislature

In May 2002, Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso announced the second edition of a comprehensive human rights plan that includes a proposal to legally recognize same-sex marriages [R1.1].

In October 2000, Congresswoman Marta Suplicy sponsored the gay partnership law which subsequently stalled in the Chamber of Deputies [R1.2].

Military Police

In June 2008, a gay Brazilian army sergeant, Sgt Laci Marinho de Araujo, was taken into custody after he and his partner took part in a television interview in which they talked openly about being in a stable relationship for 10 years, and how they had been living together [R1.1].

It has been reported that military personnel who engage in gay sex can be sentenced to from six months to one year in prison.

Legislature

In August 2001, attempts by left-wing members of the Brazilian Congress to pass a law recognising same-sex relationships failed, with the bill being withdrawn until after next year's elections [R1.1].

Labor Party MP Roberto Jefferson said he was working to have the bill reintroduced, but gay rights organisations said they believed the bill was dead for this year.

Previously:

In March 1997, the Roman Catholic Church in Brazil has declared war on a gay partnership measure moving through parliament [R1.2].

In December 1996, the special commission drafting Brazil's same-sex partnership bill sent the final measure to Congress [R1.3].

State

In 2007, it was reported that Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul same-sex couples were able to enter into a civil union [R2.1] in legislation that was passed in 2004 [R2.2].

In December 2001, Public Law 2385/01, sponsored by Deputies Carlos Minc and Sergio Cabral, modified Law 285/79 by adding a paragraph to Article 29 dealing with the benefits accorded to state employees.

The law will guarantee to employees of the State of Rio de Janeiro the same rights for their same-sex partners as such, meeting the conditions of a stable union, which are established by Article 1 of Law 285/79 [R2.3].

The bill has been already passed by the Rio de Janeiro Legislative Assembly and will enter into force as soon as the Governor ratifies it.

City

In August 2001, the Mayor of Recife in Pernambuco state, sent a proposal to the city's legislature which would grant same-sex partners of civil servants the same social benefits currently enjoyed by partners in heterosexual couples [R3.1].

Courts & Tribunals

In August 2007, a court ruled that gender reassighnment surgery was covered under the constitutional provision guaranteeing medical care as a basic right [R1.1].

Government Instrumentalities

In January 2008, a transsexual woman and her partner lost their fight to keep their adopted baby [R2.1].

In August 1998, four military policemen in the city of Salvador (Bahia) reportedly forced two transvestite sex workers to throw themselves into the sea, after humiliating and torturing them. One of them drowned and the body was found three days later in advanced state of decomposition. The other one survived and had to go into hiding for fear of police reprisals [R2.2].

In October 1997, sex change operations were officially sanctioned in Brazil after the country's Medical Council approved a resolution allowing the operations to be performed in public hospitals [R2.3].