Hello, Rainbow reader. As you surely know, the fight for the rights and dignity of the LGTBIQ+ community is fought on many fronts, and one of them is legal. Today we bring you fundamental news that sets an important precedent in Spain: the Contentious-Administrative Court of Barcelona has agreed with the Generalitat of Catalonia, confirming a sanction of 20,000 euros imposed on the ultra-conservative organization Hazte Oír.
The reason for the fine is well known: the infamous bus that this entity put into circulation in 2022 and 2023 in the main Spanish cities, with openly discriminatory and transphobic messages. These phrases, such as “children do not exist”, “no to child mutilation” or the hashtag “#StopTransLey”, sought to directly confront the state Trans Law.
The conflict: Freedom of expression vs. Dignity
The far-right organization Hazte Oír tried to annul the sanction, alleging that its right to freedom of expression was violated. However, Judge Montserrat Fernández Cabezas, of the Barcelona Court of Instance, has been clear in rejecting this request.
The court ruling establishes that the messages disseminated are not a simple opinion, but rather “intended to attack the dignity of trans and non-binary people” and are “expressions of a discriminatory character and nature based on sex, gender and sexual orientation”.
The key here is to understand where the limit lies.
The ruling recalls that the Spanish Constitution itself provides that freedom of expression has a limit: respect for fundamental rights, especially the right to honor, privacy and the protection of youth and childhood.
Furthermore, the judge highlights that the Statute of Catalonia and the Law on Equal Treatment and Non-Discrimination of 2020 establish a clear mandate for public powers: to guarantee the rights and freedoms of all citizens and eradicate LGTBIphobia.
The key points of the sanction and sentence:
- Financial fine: 20,000 euros for a “serious violation.”
- Reason: Messages that stigmatize trans, intersex and non-binary people.
- Additional consequences: Prohibition from receiving subsidies or public aid in Catalonia, and from accessing contracts with the Generalitat or dependent organizations for five months.
- Procedural costs: Hazte Oír must pay 500 euros for the costs.
- Immovable: The sentence cannot be appealed by ordinary means.
A resounding message from the Administration
The original sanction was imposed in 2023 by the Department of Equality and Feminisms of the Generalitat, after the arrest of the bus by the Mossos d’Esquadra in Barcelona in November 2023, after opening a sanctioning file.
This judicial ratification sends a powerful and seamless message: institutions are obliged to protect the dignity of all citizens and hate speech has legal consequences. Justice has determined that the restriction on freedom of expression in this case is not “unjustified”, but rather a necessary measure to safeguard the rights of the LGTBIQ+ community.
Food for thought: Do you think these types of sentences are enough to stop the wave of hate speech in public spaces? What other legal or social tools could be effective to protect the rights of the LGTBIQ+ community against campaigns like this one?
As additional information, it is important to remember that this is not the first time that this entity has faced fines in the Catalan capital. In March 2019, the Barcelona City Council already imposed two complaints for a total of more than 61,000 euros against another bus that, on that occasion, spread anti-feminist messages. It seems that recurrence of discriminatory campaigns has a high cost.
