MADRID – The
Foreign Affairs Commission of Spain’s Congress unanimously agreed last week to
urge the Government to grant asylum to homosexuals, transsexuals and bisexuals
(spelt gais in Spanish) who are
persecuted in their country of origin and find themselves in this country.
There are over 75 countries in the world where homosexuality is forbidden; in
seven of them, the penalty is death. The Law of Asylum and Refuge of 2009
already allows people who are persecuted for their sexual orientation to apply
for refuge in Spain; but, as with too many sensible laws, it has never been
applied, despite the fact that there are almost 300 of these applications,
according to Socialist Deputy Delia Blanco.
