Chile Passes Antidiscrimination Law After Fatal Antigay Attack

Chilean lawmakers have passed a long-awaited antidiscrimination law following the fatal assault of a 24-year-old man last month in Santiago, Chile’s capital.

Daniel Zamudio died last week after being brutally attacked by four men claiming to be neo-Nazis who, among other atrocities, allegedly carved swastikas into the young man’s body.

The hate crime ignited outrage from LGBT activists and drew worldwide attention. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Chile to pass a law protecting individuals against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

AP reports that the antidiscrimination law, passed by Chile’s House of Deputies in a close vote seven years after it was first introduced, prohibits “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.” The law was passed by the country's Senate last fall; a final version reconciling differences between the two legislative bodies has yet to be approved.

More on Zamudio’s death here via Edge Media’s Michael Lavers.