Despite having a president who has blocked an anti-homophobia law, it looks like LGBTQ activists in Brazil have still won a victory as the country’s Supreme Court has declared that transphobia and homophobia should be made illegal. 

On the ground, it means crimes against the LGBTQ community are equal to racist crimes, with offenders possibly facing five years in prison if found guilty.

According to the Los Angeles Times, six of the 11 Supreme Court judges ruled in favor, with the other five set to vote on June 5. However, even if they all voted “no,” the outcome would still be the same.

The decision came about after the Popular Socialist Party and the human rights group ABGLT brought two cases to the Supreme Court. Both groups say that it was unconstitutional for the Brazilian Congress not to declare anti-LGBT violence illegal.

The ruling could not have come at a better time, as last year saw 387 homicides that were the result of homophobia happen in Brazil. In fact, 40 percent of all the anti-LGBT hate crimes in the world last year happened in Brazil.

This decision is also a welcome piece of good news especially after Kenya’s High Court decided to uphold its anti-LGBT laws.

With this Supreme Court decision, Brazil joins Switzerland as one of the countries that send people to jail for homophobia and transphobia. The other countries that have jail time in store for homophobes include Austria, France, and Denmark.

Adam4Adam blog readers in Brazil, we want to hear your thoughts. What is the mood like among the LGBTQ community there with regards to this decision? Supreme Court decision aside, have things become better or worse for the LGBTQ community under Bolsonaro’s regime? Share your stories with us in the comments section below.

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