Hate speech in Brazil

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Limitations on hate speech
attacking sexual orientation

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About Brazil:

The Federative Republic of Brazil covers almost half of South America. It is by far the largest and most populous country in the region with about 184 million people. Its official language is Portuguese, although Spanish, English and French are widely spoken. About 70 to 80% of its adults are Roman Catholic; it has the largest Catholic population of any country in the world. Conservative Protestantism -- particularly Pentecostalism -- is followed by a minority of its citizens, but is growing rapidly.

Homosexual behavior has been legal in the country since 1823 CE, except in Brazil's armed forces. Civil unions are available in some states. Same-sex marriage is not available at this time.

Brazil has a high incidence of gay bashing and hate-motivated murder of strangers on the basis of their perceived sexual orientation. The government is considering introducing legislation to criminalize anti-homosexual hate speech. Unlike Canada that has a vaguely similar law against hate propaganda, the Brazil law does not include an exemption for religious groups.

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