Mexican Supreme Court: Anti-gay expressions not protected by free speech

The First Chamber of the Mexican Supreme Court of Justice has ruled that anti-gay epithets are not protected speech under the Freedom of Expression.

From Blabbeando:

In this sense, the First Chamber determined that homophobic expressions or - in other words the frequent allegations that homosexuality is not a valid option but an inferior condition - constitute discriminatory statements even if they are expressed jokingly, since they can be used to encourage, promote and justify intolerance against gays.

For this reason, the Chamber determined that the terms used in this specific case - made up of the words "maricones" and "puñal" - were offensive. These are expressions which are certainly deeply rooted in the language of Mexican society but the truth is that the practices of a majority of participants of a society cannot trump violations of basic rights.