After the brutal gay-bashing death of Daniel Zamudio (right), who had his ear cut off and was branded with swastikas via cigarette burns, many Chileans called for action to be taken.
Now, the federal government has acted on his behalf by passing an anti-discrimination law in a very tight 58-56 vote, reports the Washington Post.
Zamudio was viciously attacked and tortured for an hour by four anti-gay neo-Nazis in a park in Santiago, Chile, and died after over three weeks in a coma. Prosecutors want to charge the perpetrators with murder and torture.
The law refers to illegal discrimination as “any distinction, exclusion or restriction that lacks reasonable justification, committed by agents of the state or individuals, and that causes the deprivation, disturbance or threatens the legitimate exercise of fundamental rights.”
How about we take this to the next level?
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Photo via Movilh Chile
Charles P
It might have been close, but it passed.
Brand
Thank God this passed. I’m impressed that Pinera wanted it fast-tracked after this torture and murder; I had a soft spot for Bachelet but it looks like this guy is a friend to humanity as well.
Lumi Bast (@nugoyxi)
Thank you Chile!
I really hope that every country outside of Africa and non-Muslim countries (they’re never going to change or at least not for hundreds or thousands of years) has anti discrimination and hate crime laws for LGB people. One down, very many more to go.
CMObrero
@Lumi Bast (@nugoyxi): Your hope for eastern countries is lame. I remember middle east is like it is after the violence the western world initiated against them, back in the middle ages.
@Brand: It passed for revision in a senate/deputes committee. It’s not there yet. Some thing gotta be made clear: the GLBT community of Chile has asked many times for this law to the government, but nothing was done until this attack brought the issue to the media, making it harmful for the government. The government parties have always being the ones blocking this law from passing, from the very first beggining, ’cause it has more than 5 years being discussed in the congress. SP is not much of a friend of humanity if you see that this is just for convenience. Bachelet and her parties weren’t better though. Other issue more important: this law does not includes, in its specifications, LGBT discrimination because they dropped it long time ago ’cause it was being blocked by the UDI and RN parties (those that support SP, RN being his) and some from DC. So… they just passed an useless Law into my country. And everyone in the rest of the world are fooles and think they are doing great. Yay!
Dionte
Omg that is horrible, did they put the monsters to permanent sleep?
Gusto
The law refers to illegal discrimination as “any distinction, exclusion or restriction that lacks reasonable justification, committed by agents of the state or individuals, and that causes the deprivation, disturbance or threatens the legitimate exercise of fundamental rights.”
Thank you for providing some context CMObrero.
When one reads the quote/translation from the legislation carefully, it is obvious that it provides little protection for LGBT people. The expression, “that lacks reasonable justification” is an open door to undermining any power may be implied. Making a law based on subjective distinctions is no law at all.
Keep up the struggle in Chile, and we will do whatever we can here.
Chris S.
Much love to Chile forever and always. . . and to our brothers & sisters in the community there.
Xoxo