Heterosexual Pride Day Called For By Sao Paulo Council

SAO PAULO -- The city council of South America's biggest city has
adopted legislation calling for a Heterosexual Pride Day to be
celebrated on the third Sunday of each December.

Sao Paulo Mayor Gilberto Kassab must sign the legislation for it to
become law and has said only that he is studying it. His office declined
Wednesday to say whether he supports the proposal.

The legislation's author, Carlos Apolinario, said the idea for a
Heterosexual Pride Day is "not anti-gay but a protest against the
privileges the gay community enjoys."

As an example, he mentioned how Sao Paulo's huge gay pride day parade
is held every year on Paulista Avenue, one of the main thoroughfares in
this city of 20 million people, while the March for Jesus organized by
evangelical groups is not allowed on the same avenue.

"I respect gays and I am against any kind of aggression made against
them," Apolinario said. "I have no trouble coexisting with gays as long
as their behavior is normal."