Amidst an increasing wave of homophobic violence in Brazil, which puts the country among the world's worst in terms of crime against the LGBT community – as reported in the first article of this series dedicated to the LGBT scene – federal deputy Jean Wyllys, the first openly homosexual member of the Brazilian parliament, has presented a Constitutional Amendment Proposal (PEC) to legalize marriage for same-sex couples. Meanwhile, recent statements of hatred and prejudice by some parliamentarians, far right groups and religious representatives, who oppose this and other legislative advancements in LGBT issues, have raised a feeling of indignation in the blogosphere. Image shared in the blog Wihhy's, public domain. Preaching prejudice "Caution! Religious freedom threatened – Gay Dictatorship in Brazil – Vote against – Say no!" from the blog Amigo de Cristo (Friend of Christ) An article from Jornal Brasil, republished by O Evangelho (The Gospel) [pt], points out that several religious groups, namely evangelicals and catholics, have been opposing what they call the beginning of a “Gay Dictatorship“ [pt], which includes “homosexual “marriage”, the Ministry of Education's supposed primer against “homophobia” (known as the “Gay Kit”) and PLC 122/2006 (the gay gag law), a bill that intends to criminalize any criticism of or opposition to homosexual behavior or to the intentions of the gay lobby”. In addition, these groups favor the dissemination of ideals which are contrary to the advocacy of LGBT rights [pt]. On this matter, Paulo Cândido, writing for the blog Biscoito Fino e a Massa, criticizes [pt] the “lack of arguments” and the “empty rhetoric” of the “religious right-wing”: que mal esconde seu ódio e sua intenção de impor a moral de uma religião à sociedade como um todo. Robson Fernando, writing for the blog Acerto de Contas, adds [pt]: Fora a visão utilitária, influenciada pela moral cristã, que os anti-LGBT possuem da sexualidade – segundo os quais o sexo teria função estritamente reprodutiva –, a homofobia e o alegado “direito de criticar a homossexualidade” têm tudo em comum com a intolerância religiosa e o suposto “direito” de alguém discordar que as pessoas possam seguir outras crenças. The cases of homophobia, however, transcend the churches and temples, and have even reached the political realm. One of the figures that bridges the two institutions is the evangelical preacher and federal deputy, Marco Feliciano. Feliciano was involved in a controversy after using Twitter to make several racist and homophobic statements, as journalist Paulo Lopes mentions [pt], quoting: “we love homosexuals, but we loathe their promiscuous practices”. Homophobia with parliamentary representation "I don't discuss promiscuity! Any son of mine is well educated and runs no risk of falling for black women or gays!" Federal deputy Jair Bolsonaro, affiliated with the Progressive Party in Rio de Janeiro, recently became involved in a controversy for defending the right of parents to hit their children to prevent them from becoming gay. Rede Brasil Atual (Current Brazil Network) summarizes [pt] Bolsonaro's most polemical statements in a recent interview on the comedy show CQC (the video can be viewed here [pt]): (…) fez declarações homofóbicas em um vídeo exibido pelo programa CQC, da TV Bandeirantes, nesta segunda-feira (28). Para Bolsonaro, ele não correria o risco de ter um um filho gay, pois seus filhos tiveram “uma boa educação, com um pai presente”. Ele também afirmou que não participaria de um evento homosexual porque “eu não participo de promover os maus costumes (sic). An advocate for far right-wing policies and a former army captain, Bolsonaro has made a habit of insulting human rights defenders as well as defending torture, but has never been punished by his peers [pt]. Blogger José Márcio Dias de Alencar wrote [pt] an Open Letter to the Deputy: O senhor, futuro ex-deputado Jair Bolsonaro, representa tudo que o Brasil hoje mais abomina. E todos os 120 mil eleitores que o colocaram em seu sexto mandato são totalmente responsáveis por esse grotesco show de horrores protagonizado em nossa recente democracia. Irônico um ex-militar que apóia e se diz saudosista da ditadura depender tanto da democracia pra viver, não? São 120 mil pessoas que pregam o racismo, a homofobia e a misoginia. Via Twitter, the actress and singer Preta Gil, offended by the video of Bolsonaro shown on CQC, announced [pt] that she will sue Bolsonaro for his remarks, to which he replied that he had been misinterpreted [pt]. Jair Bolsonaro defended [pt] himself on his website and denied that he had insulted the singer Preta Gil.