Abstract

LOPES, José Reinaldo de Lima. The right to recognition for gays and lesbians.Translated byBarney Whiteoak. Sur [online]. 2006, vol.1Selected edition, pp. 0-0. ISSN 1806-6445.

Taking the statements of two Brazilian jurists as a starting point, this article reveals what makes even educated people qualified in law reject granting of equal rights to homosexuals. It also reflects on the absence of moral and legal discussion on this social stigma in Brazil, both generally and, more specifically, among jurists, who tend to develop an irrational or traditionalist (another form of irrationalism) understanding of the fundamentals of moral life and who present arguments that are misinformed and erroneous from a contemporary philosophical and scientific point of view. By adopting this stand, they hinder physical and psychological damage inflicted on homosexual children and youngsters from being considered a form of violence, encouraged by a legal framework that harbors specific religious prejudice. From these two pivotal points, the article attempts to show how the law can be applied so as to end social discrimination of gays and lesbians.