RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL -- An estimated 800,000 to 1.2
million people attended the the 12th annual Gay Pride Parade in Copacabana,
Rio de Janeiro this weekend.
Rio's governor Sérgio Cabral made history by opening the parade Sunday:
it
was the first time in Brazil's history that a governor attended a gay
pride event,
MadeinBrazil reports.
The main goal for this year's parade was the approval of bill 122/2006,
which classifies homophobia as a hate crime on federal level.
According to human rights groups in Brazil up to 2,582 homosexuals have
been murdered in the past 10 years.
"If we don’t make progress in these matters our democracy will never
consolidate," said Cabral.
Side note: Here's a video clip from the big parade:
it
was the first time in Brazil's history that a governor attended a gay
pride event,
The Hunk
