The murder of Daniel Zamudio has
provoked outrage in Chile and calls for the government to approve a
languishing hate crimes law.
Zamudio died Tuesday night from
injuries he received during an attack in a park in Santiago on March
3. Police have arrested 4 suspects who have been charged with
beating Zamudio for an hour, burning him with cigarettes and carving
Nazi symbols into his body. Officials believe the 24-year-old
Zamudio was targeted because he is gay.
His death has prompted outrage in Chile
and calls to charge the men allegedly responsible with premeditated
murder.
The administration of President
Sebastian Pinera has pledged to work toward passage of an
anti-discrimination bill which was first proposed in 2005.
Evangelical churches have lobbied heavily against the proposed
measure, arguing it would lead to the eventual legalization of gay
marriage.
“Since Daniel's aggressive murder
happened, we've been learning how we are going to construct effective
protected society with more love, where no one, no one is
discriminated against for any reason. Because all Chileans have the
same rights,” Vice President Rodrigo Hinzpeter told reporters.
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