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Loading ...Judge: Gay men not protected by domestic violence law
04.16.2009 5:30pm EDT
(Madrid) A Spanish judge has declared that a man cannot be charged with domestic violence against his husband because a law covering spousal abuse does not cover gay male victims.
Same-sex marriage became legal in 2005. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has called it one of his greatest achievements. But a raft of other laws affecting families have not kept up gay marriage – include domestic violence legislation.The inadequacy of the law came to light this week after a man killed his ex-husband in the town of Adra, in the southern region of Andalucia. The former husband was stabbed to death and the killer then took his own life.
In an interview with the Spanish news service EFE, the President of the AlmerÃa Provincial Court, Benito Galvez, said if the perpetrator had survived he could be charged with murder, but an addition charge of domestic violence could not be brought.
Galvez said that the domestic violence law, written before same-sex marriage became legal, identifies a victim as only being female. It could only be called a gay domestic violence incident if it had happened between two lesbians, he said.
In the case of the murder-suicide, Adra officials said they intend to regard it as domestic violence and will hold a vigil for the victim.
Judge Glavez said the law needs to be reviewed.
A 2008 study by the New York Anti-Violence Project found that domestic abuse in the LGBT community is “pervasive” and rates are similar to those among opposite-sex couples.
The judge should get abused by A woman. Then see what happens.Hell do it to all the men there.Gather A rageing lesbian force, & have them beat up phobic men. See who gets the last laugh.
The law is not anti-gay per se; the law is actually anti-male. The law says that only a women can be a victim in domestic abuse so gay men and straight men alike are left unprotected by this misandrous law. I will admit that women are typically the victims of domestic violence but when a law is made it should protect everyone. The Spanish Parliament should be ashamed of themselves for writing and passing such genderistic law.
Good lord, the comments are killing me. We are so quick to cast stones about Spains inperfect legal system….hmmmm…lets see, they have some antiquated laws…well what country doesn’t? Spain allows gay adoption, codified marriage equality, equal taxation…in my opinion they are light years ahead of the “land of the free”. My guess is that because of this tragedy, change will come that modernizes “domestic violence laws”…but you can bet that Spain is wayyyy more progressive towards GLBT equality than those of us still in the USA.
@Neil–Spanish system is influenced by Napoleonic Code, which is much less likely to recognize judicial precedent (if it even does). It might be discrimination to block two men from marrying, but in the Spanish system that doesn’t force domestic violence law to change. In the US…well, Scalia was horrified that Lawrence v Texas was going to open the door to all the homos getting married, because that verdict set a precedent (stare decisis). US recognizes common law, so one well-placed court decision can change all kinds of things.
Hmmm…and just how “pervasive” is this phenomena I wonder? Could this just be negative propaganda being spewed against us?
Since straight men aren’t covered under the law either, this doesn’t have anything to do with sexual orientation.
It is plain, old-fashioned gender discrimination. From the same maschismo attitude that gave us the legal justification for male sexual abuse because “men can’t get raped.”
And we are all in a huff because it has been proven that ‘domestic partnership’ and ‘civil unions’ do not bring us marriage equality.
But we believe that when we can be legally married, we will have those rights.
This should prove that being allowed to marry doesn’t guarantee us equality in every situation. Is it a huge step? A necessary step? Yes! But from that point forward, it will still be a step by step fight. One which we will win. But one for which each step gives opportunity for our opposition to encroach.
Neil
This reminds me of a friend of mine who called the police because his wife came at him with a knife. He was 6′2″, 230 lbs. and she was 4′11″, 75 lbs. When the police arrived, they asked her what he did to her and he had to convince them that he was the one who called them. So men can’t be victims. Yeah, right!
This law refers to the victim as female, so it protects lesbians and heterosexual women, but not gay men and apparently not heterosexual men. The problem is sex discrimination, but in this case, it affected a gay man.
The law doesn’t just not cover gay men; it doesn’t cover MEN of ANY sexual orientation because, according to Spanish law (and according to misperceptions here in the US as well) ONLY females can be victims of domestic violence and females can’t be perpetrators of domestic violence against men either.
Europe prides itself on its gender “equality” but often their laws are ANYTHING but equal, especially when males are on the sh*t end of the stick.
so your saying the law states strait men not gay? give me a break be homo fobic somewhere else
I guess Spain is now modeling itself in the image of the US