04/24/2024 – 22:03
A couple of men who are planning their own wedding party tried to hire a company to make invitations and souvenirs for the party, but, upon learning that it was a homosexual couple, the person responsible for the company informed them that they do not serve this public and ended the negotiation . The couple registered the case with the Civil Police, which is now investigating whether the company owner committed a crime of homophobia.
Event promoter Henrique Nascimento, 29 years old, has been with Wagner Soares, 38 years old, for eight years and seven months. The couple lives in Jaçanã, north of São Paulo, and is already married, but plans to have a party in September 2025 to celebrate their union.
To do this, Nascimento consulted the company Jurgenfeld Ateliê – Convites de Casamento, based in Pederneiras, in the interior of São Paulo, to obtain a quote and other information about the services provided. The conversation took place via Whatsapp.
After Nascimento informed that his union is with another man, he was informed that he would not be assisted. “Hi, Henrique, how are you? Sorry for the delay. I apologize for this, but we do not make homosexual invitations. It would be a good idea to look for a stationery store that meets your needs. Thank you, see?” wrote the person responsible for the company, including a heart emoji before the last sentence.
Astonished, Nascimento went to the 73rd DP (Jaçanã) and registered the case, this Wednesday, the 24th. According to the Public Security Secretariat, the record was sent to the Police Station for the Repression of Racial Crimes, against Sexual and Gender Diversity and other Crimes of Intolerance (Decradi), which “has already contacted the victims and is investigating the crime of discrimination”.
The owner of Jurgenfeld Ateliê even posted a video and text on social media stating that “in our company we believe in family as it is” and that “we can no longer bear having to put up with (sic) so much criticism and questions about the fact that we cannot hold homosexual weddings or events.” “Today we reached our peak! (…) Is there 'heterophobia'? This is a question that should be introduced in the philosophy books of this century in view of so many barbaric things (sic) that we have seen”.
“If we were a company that only does homosexual marriages, we would be politically correct and we would be ruining the budget of the people who watch Globo and listen to Anita (sic), but it doesn’t work like that here”, follows the text, which ends with a quote from an excerpt from Bible.
Hours later, the text was completely deleted from the networks and replaced by another: “Guys, we would like to ask for your support and prayer in the face of this situation we are going through today. It was published on X that we are homophobic and after that we have received several extremely offensive and threatening messages”, complains the person responsible for the company.
“Anyone who knows us knows that it is not about homophobia or any type of prejudice, but about principles and values. May the Lord give us grace in such a cruel and terrible moment”, he concludes.
The report attempted to hear from those responsible for the company, but was unsuccessful until the publication of this report.
Lawyers consulted by Estadão consider the conduct to be criminal. “The company is not obliged to serve everyone, in the same way that the lawyer is not obliged to serve everyone, but the motivation exposed, the justification, is unacceptable”, says professor of Constitutional Law and Human Rights Ceres Rabelo .
“The service provider cannot refuse to provide services based on sexual or gender orientation”, says lawyer Antilia Reis. “It is a crime to refuse to assist or differentiate the treatment given to all people who sought a certain service based on the person's sexual orientation or gender identity”, she concludes.
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