According to Gay.com, AP reports that Chile is currently debating the standing legislation around discrimination against gays in the country, and the possibility of writing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation out of legislation all together:

Chile’s Congress is debating striking down regulations against “offenses to morals and good customs” that police have used to harass gays, even for behavior such as holding hands in public.

Activists say such treatment remains common. It was only in 1998 that Chile repealed a prohibition on sex between consenting, same-sex adults.

The elimination of discriminatory laws would mark a milestone for the traditionally conservative Catholic country, which only recently legalized divorce (yes, straight divorce, if you can believe it) in 2004. The regime change with a socialist (albeit controversial) president seems to be spurring this new wave of confidence among activists, and has at the very least brought the debate to the table.

Just how much does legislation impact a society that’s bound to homophobia by tradition? Take the model of Spain, whose socialist government is helping pioneer equality for gays in Europe by allowing equal right to couples of the same sex. Has that changed what society thinks of gays? Not necessarily. I would still say it’s not cool for two guys to walk down the street in Spain holding hands, you can still be fired from your job for being gay and the majority of the population continues to believe that gays are unfit to be parents, as evidenced by the turnout for the Pope’s recent trip Spain to “fight for the sanctity of traditional families”. Legislation helps, but only in the long run, and when coupled with public awareness raising and education.

Still, in Chile, activists are hopeful:

“There are few people or institutions who would dare to say that homosexuality is perverse, pathological, and that we need to round up the homosexuals and take them to an island. They said these things easily five or 10 years ago,” said Jimenez.

“Chile is in the process of a profound transition in terms of ethics and values,” he said.

Via / Gay.com

Image: Santiago’s first Pride parade, via Desert Monster’s Flickr page