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USA
TODAY
Mexico City prison
system allows first
gay conjugal visit
By Mark Stevenson, AP
from usatoday.com on the Web, July 29, 2007
MEXICO CITY — Mexico City's
prison system has begun allowing gay conjugal visits, bowing to a recommendation
by the country's National Human Rights Commission, the commission announced on
Sunday.
The city's leftist government has taken a series of controversial stands in
recent months on social issues like abortion, gay marriage and prostitution,
despite opposition from conservatives and religious organizations.
"The Mexico City department of prisons and rehabilitation has allowed the first
conjugal visit to an inmate with a sexual orientation other than heterosexual,"
the government-funded rights commission said in a news release. It called
the move "an important step in terms of non-discrimination regarding sexual
preference."
In many Mexican prisons, inmates are allowed to receive conjugal visits, and
most do not require the visitor to be married to the inmate. Special rooms
are set aside in many prisons so that inmates and visitors can be alone during
such visits.
The decision was prompted by a complaint filed by a man identified only as
"Agustin N.," who said he wanted to visit his companion, "Ricardo N.," at the
Santa Martha Acatitla prison on the city's east side.
Agustin filed a complaint with the rights commission — which has the power to
make recommendations but not to enforce them — saying prison authorities had
denied his request because the two are gay.
On Feb. 8 the commission ruled that was discrimination, and prison authorities
decided to allow the visit. The statement did not say when.
The commission said it still wants the policy change to be set down in writing
and applied to all city prisons. The prisons department spokesman's office
said he was not immediately available to comment on Sunday.
The leftist party that governs Mexico City has already legalized gay civil
unions and abortion in the capital of this overwhelmingly Roman Catholic
country, and has proposed legalizing prostitution, which is currently punishable
here by 12 to 24 hours in jail and small fines.
Mexico as a whole adopted a law in 2003 banning discrimination based on sexual
preference.
www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-07-29-mexico-gay-conjugal-visit_N.htm
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