http://www.buzzfeed.com/lesterfeder/the-congressman-the-cardinal-and-the-peruvian-closetAuthor: J. Lester Feder Source: BuzzFeed
Carlos Bruce, a Peruvian congressman, is leading a major campaign for civil unions in one of South America's most religious countries. The church has put his sexuality at the center of the debate — not that he seems to mind.
Bruce has showed no fear in baiting the Catholic Church in one of the Latin American countries where it has the most political power, and not only by trying to rent one of its churches. Over the past few years, he has emerged as the leading advocate of LGBT rights in the Peruvian Congress. After unsuccessfully championing protections for LGBT people in hate crimes legislation and a failed proposal to create a new kind of contract to allow same-sex couples to secure their joint property, Bruce introduced a bill to allow same-sex couples to enter into civil unions in September. Cardinal Cipriani went nuclear.
They're keeping their feet on the gas despite the controversy over Bruce's sexuality. In fact, this has proved a boon, said George Liendo of PROMSEX. "It hasn't [damaged] the image of Congressman Bruce, but rather I think it made it stronger," Liendo said. "If characters didn't exist like the cardinal, members of congress from Opus Dei, or evangelical members of Congress ... with their extremist commentaries like 'homosexuals are sick," "they're damaged goods" ... the media debate would not exist."
