Nikolas Ferreira defends that companies discriminate against LGBT people: “it’s not homophobia”

Without anything new, federal deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) rushed to defend the printing company that refused to issue invitations to an LGBT wedding and even declared: “it’s not homophobia”.

In a series of stories published on his Instagram profile, the deputy elaborated a bizarre speech, but which is not new, where he seeks to build a differentiation between “militants” and “LGBT community”. This practice has been used for a long time by pastor Silas Malafaia.

“Basically they refused to make a wedding invitation to a homosexual couple. They are being canceled, accused of homophobia, and homophobia is not simply a refusal to make a wedding invitation. Homophobia is an aversion to homosexuals. Homophobia, in fact, the person has to be condemned, and that is not the case. We know that, basically, it is militancy against people who are working, who have their livelihood there”, begins Nikolas Ferreira, convicted of transphobia. and who wants to teach what… homophobia is.

The deputy then prepares a speech that aims to incite hatred against LGBT people, because, according to Nikolas Ferreira’s reasoning, the search for accountability for LGBTphobic attitudes, if not contained, could become a social threat. “Now it’s up to them and in a little while it’s up to you, your father, your brother and I don’t want that to happen.”

Next, Nikolas Ferreira makes a fictitious distinction between “homosexuals” and “militancy”: “The main difference between homosexuals and LGBT activism: one wants acceptance and the other wants imposition. In fact, this week I received this message from a homosexual person that I supported for an important position at CREA, in other words. The narratives fall when they say that we are against homosexuals, on the contrary, if you see, there are several cases all over the world, since 2018”, here the deputy brings one. case of a baker in the USA who refused to make a cake for an LGBT event. However, the parliamentarian forgets that in the country in question, homophobic discrimination is not classified as a crime.

Subsequently, the deputy compares a commercial activity with the practice of faith by raising the fact that pastors and other religious people refuse to perform LGBT weddings and, finally, states that the fight for LGBT civil rights is a threat to religious freedom.

“Basically: either the guy denies his faith or he is fined and could go to jail. In other words, this is not acceptance, it is imposing something, especially because if I ask the person to believe in the Bible and they say no and I impose, this is not democracy, it is imposition. In other words, this is what they are doing and that is why I emphasize this so much: this concerns our freedom, but mainly religious freedom”, concludes Nikolas Ferreira.

It is worth highlighting that: it was never about forcing religions to change their precepts, but always about combating hate speech and discrimination, something that the deputy knows very well, given that he is convicted of transphobia.

Printer refuses to invite LGBT weddings

A gay couple contacted a printing company to quote invitations for the wedding, however, what was supposed to be the beginning of a great act of celebration, slipped into the crime of homophobia, as the company Jurgenfeld Ateliê declared that it does not make invitations for homosexuals.

It is worth remembering that in 2019 the Federal Supreme Court (STF) equated homophobia with the crime of racism (Racism Law, 1988). Therefore, discrimination based on sexual orientation can result in sentences ranging from 2 to 5 years in prison.

In the company’s response, one of the couple’s boys received the following text: “Hi Henrique, how are you? I apologize for that, but we don’t make homosexual invitations. It would be nice for you to look for a stationery store that meets your needs. Thank you.”

“It is with great disappointment that we express our deep dissatisfaction with the refusal to provide services for our wedding, simply because we are a homosexual couple,” the couple responded to the company that discriminated against them.

A friend of the couple made the case public and, after the repercussions, the company’s owners published a video and spoke of “heterophobia”.

“We do not do weddings or homosexual events […] Today was the last straw. We said no, that we would not perform any type of homosexual marriage and we were, in a way, retaliated by a couple who did not accept our position and have in fact made some comments here on our Instagram […] saying that homophobia is a crime. I know this video might make some people unfollow us […] We’re not worried about that,” the company’s owners stated.

In the caption that accompanied the video, which was deleted, those responsible for the company also spoke of “heterophobia”. “Is there ‘heterophobia’? That’s a question that should be introduced in the philosophy books of this century in view of so many barbarities that we have seen.”

Henrique and Wagner, the couple discriminated against by the company, will file a police report. The report from Forum contacted the studio on the available numbers, but did not receive a response. The space remains open.