On October 1995, after several meetings with gay and lesbian leaders in Brazil, Marta Suplicy, a Member of Chamber of Deputies, presented a bill to the Brazilian Parliament proposing the legalization of civil unions between persons of the same sex. Throughout 1996, the bill was analyzed by a Special Parliamentary Committee which heard testimonies both in favor of and against the bill. In December 1996, the Special Committee finally voted in favor of the bill, changing its name to Civil Registered Partnership. The bill assures same sex couples rights to inheritance, succession, welfare benefits, joint income declaration, nationality for foreign partners and joint income presentations when buying a house. The bill is due to be voted upon by the full Brazilian Parliament in April of 1997, and activists are urgently requesting international support for the approval of this bill.

We strongly urge that letters of support be written for this initiative, which is the first of its kind in South America and which, if approved, will enable thousands of gay and lesbian couples in Brazil to have access to equal rights denied to them under existing legislation. If approved, the law could also serve as an important precedent for the whole region, possibly stimulating similar social change in other Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Please fax letters to the following Party Leaders:

Dep. Inocencio Oliveira:

55-61-224-1792

Dep. Paulo Heslander:

55-61-318-2117

Dep. Geddel Vieira Lima:

55-61-318-2109

Dep. Jose Anibal:

55-61-318-7167

and to the following Opinion Makers:

Dep. Luis Eduardo:

55-61-318-2906

Dep. Ibrahim Abi-Ackel:

55-61-318-2319

Dep. Roberto Jefferson:

55-61-318-2208

Dep. Michel Temer:

55-61-318-2577