Switzerland votes overwhelmingly to jail citizens for ‘homophobia,’ ‘transphobia’, by Calvin Freiburger.

By an almost two-to-one vote met with ringing approval by pro-LGBT groups, the National Council of Switzerland voted this month on a measure to criminalize “homophobia” and “discrimination.” …

The country’s Criminal Code currently bans “incitement to hatred or discrimination against a person or group of persons on the basis of their ‘racial, ethnic or religious’ affiliation,” the paper explains, punishable by a fine or up to three years in prison. Reynard’s proposal would add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to that list.

“Homophobia is not an opinion,” [national councilor Mathias Reynard] declares. “It’s a crime. One in five homosexuals attempted suicide, half before the age of 20. This victory sends a strong signal.” Organizations such as Pink Cross and websites such as PinkNews are celebrating his victory. …

Councilor Yves Nidegger challenged the measure, however. He warned that the categories being criminalized are “legally problematic and indefinable” and questioning whether “pedophilia, bisexuality, gerontophilia, necrophilia, fetishism, zoophilia, and so on — creativity in this area being inexhaustible — are sexual orientations that must be protected or not protected.”

hat-tip Stephen Neil