Gay and lesbian couples in Brazil are
rushing to marry ahead of the swearing in of President-elect Jair
Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro, who once proclaimed himself
to be a “proud homophobe” and campaigned on a pledge to defend
“the true meaning of matrimony as a union between man and woman,”
will be sworn in on January 1.
(Related: Brazil
elects “proud homophobe” Jair Bolsonaro as president.)
Same-sex marriage became legal in
Brazil in 2013, but, according to various sources, Bolsonaro's
election has led to a surge of weddings among gay couples. Last
month, the number of such marriages in Brazil increased 65 percent
over the previous year.
“We're going to marry today because
we want security,” Lucas Nascimento, a 22-year-old blogger, told
NPR. “It's just because this we're going to marry today –
more faster than we want because we don't know what's going to
happen.”
Clara Correa said that she was marrying
her partner first out of love and second because of Bolsonaro.
“We're thinking to leave the country
because we were scared. Then I say no. We fought so much. Why
don't [we] fight right now and fight with love?” she said.
The
New York Times reported on a mass wedding ceremony organized
by the city of São Paulo
where 30 couples exchanged vows.
“There could be attempts to make
same-sex marriage illegal, but the Constitution will prevail,” Jose
Fernando Simao, a professor of civil rights and family law at the
University of São Paulo,
told the Times. “It's natural for there to be concern.
This is a community that has been ultra-marginalized in the past.”
Activists also worry that Bolsonaro's
fiery rhetoric will embolden opponents of LGBT rights, leading to
increasing violence and discrimination against the community.