After Titeuf, who is accused by Jair Bolsonaro promote homosexuality among young people, the super heroes from team Marvel. Brazil’s supreme Court has put an end to the «censorship» of a comic strip showing a kiss gay, giving wrong Marcelo Crivella, mayor ultraconservateur of Rio de Janeiro, who had asked that it be removed from a book fair.
This decision of the highest court of the country cancelled Sunday a judicial order authorizing the mayor Marcelo Crivella to seize the copies which he regarded as «inappropriate». On the comic book in question, Avengers: The Children’s crusade ( Avengers the children’s crusade) , of the famous publishing house american Marvel, you can see two super-heroes, Wiccan and Hulkling, who have a romantic relationship, share a kiss, fully clothed.
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«In a democracy, ( … ), the different beliefs and worldviews should be able to be exposed», said the president of the supreme Court, José Antonio Dias Toffoli, to justify his decision. Another judge of this high court, Gilmar Mendes, spoke for his part an act of «censorship» on the part of the mayor of Rio.
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«such books must be covered with black plastic, sealed and with a view on the content»
The mayor ultraconservateur has requested that the book be withdrawn from sale because of its «sexual content to minors». «Such books must be covered with black plastic, sealed and with a warning about the content,» said the mayor in a video released on Twitter, during which it shows the cover and a thumbnail of the COMIC book entitled Avengers: The Children’s crusade ( Avengers: the children’s Crusade ).
The mayor’s initiative had the effect of see volumes quickly exhausted, have told AFP the organizers of the book fair, considered the largest literary event in Brazil. Brazilian Felipe Neto, very popular on YouTube with over 34 million subscribers on his channel, has bought 14,000 volumes devoted to LGBT issues and distribute them free of charge at the book fair, as a sign of protest.
The image representing the kiss of two super-heroes spread also in the newsstands of the country, reproduced on the front page of Folha de S. Paulo , the main daily newspaper in brazil.
The president of the court of Rio de Janeiro, Claudio de Mello Tavares, lent his support Saturday to the initiatives of the mayor. A comic with super-heroes, and destined, therefore, to a young readership is not supposed to discuss the issues of sexuality and, therefore, should be accompanied by a banner disclaimer, argued the judge. The organizers of the book fair, which ends Sunday, said they would appeal. Publishers and writers to consider for their part that the decision of the mayor is tantamount to censorship.
Criminalize homophobia
«Since this decision seems to aim specifically at the prohibition of magazines, exhibitor kisses gay (rather than the other), I interpréterais this as being motivated by discrimination, both the mayor and the judge,» said a constitutional expert, Michael Mohallem, of the Getulio Vargas Foundation. The supreme Court of Brazil decided in June to criminalize homophobia, likening it to racism.
This decision is seen as an important step for sexual minorities in a country with the largest number of murders of LGBT people. Brazil has legalized marriage between persons of the same sex.
Marcelo Crivella, a former bishop of the universal Church of the kingdom of God (evangelical), was elected in 2016 the mayor of Rio, promising to bring back law and order in this city beset by crime. He is the nephew of the founder of this Church, the Emir Macedo, also the owner of the second television in the country, TV Record.
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