It wasn't too long ago that we were sharing 'Why I'm Marrying My Partner Before Trump Can Take My Rights Away'
No one knows what the new presidency will hold when Trump and his advisors take over. Will it be a turning back of the clocks? Is it all just hot air? The questions right now outweigh the answers.
Zach Brooke is not waiting for many of those questions to be answered. He's taking matters into his own hands and is making changes before the Trump administration takes over. He explains his actions in "Why I'm Marrying My Partner Before Trump Can Take My Rights Away."
No, Trump has not taken away our right to marry. Some will say 'yet', some say he won't be able to, others think Kavanaugh will be there for the assist. It's all very debatable, but thinking back to where we were mentally in November and December of 2016, we know how the Brazilian LGBT community is going through right now.
Brazil's incoming president, Jair Bolsonaro, has been unequivocal when it comes to his negative views about homosexuality. He takes office on Jan. 1.
Far-right Brazilian Congressman Jair Bolsonaro — once considered unelectable due, in part, to his long history of offensive comments — was elected on Oct. 28. The former military captain, who officially takes office on Jan. 1, has been unequivocal when it comes to his views on homosexuality. He has attributed homosexuality to drug use, compared same-sex marriage to pedophilia, advocated that parents beat being gay out of their children and once said he’d rather his son die in an accident than be gay. In 2013, he even admitted, “Yes, I am homophobic — and very proud of it.” – NBCNews.com
Was our panic n 2016 just the LGBT community worrying or was there a larger sign saying we should run to the courthouse and say our 'I DO's'?
Many in Brazil point to two distinct signs that LGBT citizens should worry. The first would be the advice from Brazilian judge and president of the Brazilian Bar Association’s Commission on Sexual Diversity, Maria Berenice Dias. She stated that couples need to highly consider getting married before the new president takes office because there was a risk rights could be taken away.
Julio Moreira, director of Grupo Arco-Iris, one of the oldest LGBTQ organizations in Brazil,
Same-sex marriage has been legal since 2013 in Brazil based on a “judical understanding” by the country’s Supreme Court. Marriage equality is bases on interpretation of the Brazilian Constitution and not based on any federal law. Interpretations change. Sound familiar?
The other not so subtle sign occurred two weeks before the election.
Bolsonaro signed a document in partnership with the conservative Catholic organization Voto Católico Brasil promising his commitment “to defend and promote the true meaning of matrimony: the union between a man and a woman.” Many have interpreted this as a sign that preventing same-sex marriages may be among his priorities while in office. – NBCNews.com
NBCNews caught up with Caique Paz, a corporate event planner based in São Paulo, who stated that there has been a national movement to assist same-sex couples to marry before the new year.
Here's a post by Caique Paz on the Facebook page of Casa das Caldeiras, site of a multiple wedding ceremony just a week ago.
Last Sunday, 16/12/2018, we celebrate the love of these couples in one of the most beautiful resistance acts i have ever seen. As many of you know, there was a large number of early marriages after guidance from the chairman of the special committee of the sexual and gender diversity of the Federal Council of OAB, Maria Berenice Dias, so that the couples couples would seek to ensure the right In the face of this, we created a network of countless people willing to make these marriages without pre-planning happen.
In the middle of all help to some couples, I contacted some spaces to help us and Katia from Casa das Caldeiras gave us a date to use the house. Then I called Rafaella, Bianca, I found Fernanda and Karinaand we started running after all the rest. Without each of these people none of this would have happened! I leave here my greatest respect, admiration, affection and gratitude for the universe having crossed our paths at the moment I and all those involved most needed after these last months.
And around 15 days, with the help of more people and professionals with a huge heart, we managed to perform this ceremony and make history in front of the scenario we live in. I still have no words to explain what we felt at that moment and much less to thank everyone who supported from the beginning, the collaborative vakinha and the presence in the day.
Will Jair Bolsonaro upset the path that marriage equality has been on since 2013? Will he have the power to do so? Will the courts bend to his homophobia?
Keep those wedding bells ringing as long as you can, Brazil.
h/t: NBCNews.com,