Employment and other discrimination based on tattoos, body piercings could be outlawed in Federal District

Guadalajara -
A legislative deputy in the Federal District (Mexico City) General Assembly plans to introduce a bill which would criminalize discrimination against any person based upon tattoos or body piercings.

PRI Assemblyman Fernando Mercado Guaida contends that such discrimination is a violation of the subject's human rights, especially when carried out in the labor sector. He alleges many employers refuse to hire applicants with tattoos or piercings, unless they can be completely covered with clothing or removed during duty hours. Mercado also claims that Mexican common carriers, such as airlines, and public venues, such as amusement parks, have refused admission to customers bearing tattoos, or have conditioned admission on the complete concealment of such body markings.

Under the bill aggrieved workers could file a criminal complaint with local prosecutors, who in turn could institute formal proceedings against the offender. Penalties would include up to three years in prison.

Mercado's legislative initiative, if passed by the Assembly, would modify the Federal District's existing Criminal Code Article 206, which punishes by fine, imprisonment or mandatory community service discriminatory acts based on "sex, race, religion, political or philosophical ideology, sexual orientation or social status." People of color and indigenous groups often the target of discrimination in Mexico.

Mexico City remains extremely proactive in the enactment of human rights protections, and is far ahead of the rest of the nation in that respect. On May 18 Federal District Governor Miguel Ángel Mancera announced that his PRD administration would introduce legislation before Mexico City's General Assembly to establish a system of noncriminal, administrative fines to punish anyone who discriminates against members of the so-called LGBTTTI community - an acronym which stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, transvestite and "intersexual" persons. There have been no further reports on the status of that proposed bill. To dozens of others, Mexico now adds one more National Day - this one against Homophobia.

Mar. 6, 2013 - Mexican Supreme Court: anti-gay comments are hate speech, not free speech, and are not legally protected
Sept. 2, 2014 - Mexico's 31 states slow to recognize gay marriage

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