Homophobia illegal in Faeroe Islands
The Faeroe Islands parliament has passed a law banning discrimination against the gay community.
It comes after a petition from campaigners expressed discontent that homophobia is made “perfectly legal” because the government does nothing against it, but yesterday a new law was passed by 17 votes to 13.
The document said, “This protest is to show the Faeroese Government and Parliament that whether or not it is in the name of Christianity, the surrounding world does not find discriminating acts against homosexual people acceptable. This kind of legislation is a serious violation of The United Nations’ Declaration of Human Rights
“Unfortunately, right now violence and discrimination against people who have spoken up about their homosexuality in public is not uncommon in the Faeroe Islands. And because there is no law to protect the homosexual minority against such discrimination, it is often considered legal and acceptable to commit these actions against homosexuals.”
The Faeroes, population 47,000, is a self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark located halfway between Norway and Iceland.
In 1989, Denmark became the first nation in the world to pass a registered-partnership law granting same-sex couples the rights of marriage.
Last year, the Faeroese parliament rejected an ant discrimination law by a vote of 20 to 12.
The new push for the law follows a homophobic attack in a bar in the capital, on popular local radio host Rasmus Rasmussen, who is openly gay. Rasmussen and his family also received threatening phone calls after local media reported on the beating.
