ANTI-LGBT

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro: This Country Must Not Become a ‘Gay Tourism Paradise’

“Brazil can’t be a country of the gay world, of gay tourism. We have families,” the president said.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro reportedly declared that the country must not turn into a “gay tourism paradise” on Thursday, The Guardian reports. “If you want to come here and have sex with a woman, go for your life,” Bolsonaro was quoted as saying during a breakfast meeting with reporters. “But we can’t let this place become known as a gay tourism paradise. Brazil can’t be a country of the gay world, of gay tourism. We have families.” The remarks sparked immediate backlash with Brazil's LGBT community. “This is not a head of state—this is a national disgrace,” congressman and LGBT activist David Miranda said. Miranda, who is the husband of journalist Glenn Greenwald, also claimed the remark put “a target” on the backs of the LGBT community and encouraged the exploitation of women. Renan Quinalha, lawyer and activist, told the newspaper Bolsonaro’s remark gave a “green light to already alarming levels of violence against the LGBT community” and reinforced his homophobic image. Bolsonaro reportedly previously said he was happy to flaunt his anti-LGBT views. “Yes, I’m homophobic—and very proud of it,” he was quoted as saying.

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