MEXICAN SUPREME COURT: GAY SLURS NOT FREEDOM OF SPEECH

In a groundbreaking ruling, Mexico’s Supreme Court has asserted that anti-gay slurs are discriminatory and are not protected under freedom of speech.

The judges of the First Chamber of the court ruled on Wednesday on the complex and, in this instance, conflicting issues of freedom of expression and discrimination.

According to Blabbeando, the ruling related to a case in which a publisher wrote and published an article calling another publisher a “puñal” (fag) and stating that his employees were “maricones” (faggots).

“…homophobic expressions or – in other words the frequent allegations that homosexuality is not a valid option but an inferior condition – constitute discriminatory statements even if they are expressed jokingly, since they can be used to encourage, promote and justify intolerance against gays,” said the court in a statement.

“… the Chamber determined that the terms used in this specific case – made up of the words ‘maricones’ and ‘puñal’ – were offensive. These are expressions which are certainly deeply rooted in the language of Mexican society but the truth is that the practices of a majority of participants of a society cannot trump violations of basic rights.”

The court added that “it was determined that the expressions ‘maricones’ and ‘puñal’, just as they were used in this specific case, were not protected by the Constitution”.

Three of the judges were in favour of the ruling with two against the decision.