Gay ‘non-discrimination’ bill could lead to persecution of Chilean Christians: pro-family group
May 16, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A bill to prohibit “discrimination” against homosexuals recently passed by the Chilean National Congress is likely to result in the approval of homosexual “marriage” and adoption, and may even lead to the persecution of Christians, according to HazteOir Chile (“Make Yourself Heard - Chile”).
The bill, which passed the Senate on May 9, prohibits “every distinction, exclusion, or restriction” against homosexuals and other groups, “that lacks a reasonable justification, carried out by agents of the government or individuals” and states that “any crime motivated by an ideological or discriminatory situation, whether for religion, race, ethnicity, condition, or sexual orientation, can be considered an aggravating factor by the judge at the time of evaluating, for the purposes of sentencing, an attitude that [the convicted] might have had for the purpose of discriminating against or diminishing another.”
HazteOir Chile issued a statement calling the law “very serious, because in the name of a right - that of non-discrimination - the right of every child to have a father and a mother is ignored.”
“How will an adoption agency be able to deny an adoption to a homosexual?” the organization asks.
“Furthermore, elements of human nature are attacked [by the bill], such as marriage, sexuality, freedom o expression and religion. How will a pastor freely preach from the Bible?”
However, one homosexual leader expressed disappointment at changes made to the bill before passage that he said would allow freedom of expression and other rights to trump a discrimination complaint.
Sebastián Pino, sub-coordinator of the legislative commission of the Iguales Foundation complained to Radio UChile that “if a person feels discriminated against, the person at fault, the discriminator, only has to invoke another fundamental right, like freedom of expression, to avoid punishment.”
He also complained that the final version of the bill had no mandate to require the government to engage in “educational” campaigns to change people’s attitudes towards homosexuality.
“We hope that we will soon have an anti-discrimination law, but not only with the text that is currently approved, but that it be a truly operational law, which includes affirmative measures, public policies that permit education that reaffirms the value of diversity,” said Pino.
The bill, which had been under consideration for several years, was given new life following the brutal beating of a young homosexual man in a park, which ultimately led to his death in a hospital several weeks later.
Daniel Zamudio, 24, was allegedly beaten by four young men who cut a swastika into his flesh and chanted anti-gay slogans as he slept in a park. According to the account of one of the four, he was kicked in the head, beaten with a bottle, urinated on, burned with cigarettes, and his legs were broken with rocks.
Homosexual groups have used Zamudio’s killing to promote the passage of the non-discrimination bill, while pro-family groups have expressed reservations that it will be used to promote the homosexual lifestyle and undermine family and religious rights.
