Legal Commentary

Spanish Government Imposing 100,000-Euro Fine for Anti-Homosexuality Ads?

By Eugene Volokh

This apparently happened in July, but I only heard about it a few weeks ago. Here is part of a summary from an advocacy group, the European Centre for Law and Justice:

Spain?s Ministry of Industry, the government department responsible for regulating telecommunications and audiovisual media, fined Intereconomía, a Christian-inspired multimedia communication group, which owns among other things, ALBA ? a Christian-inspired weekly. The media group was fined 100,000 Euros for airing a promotional advertisement in defense of traditional family. The specific advertisement came as part of a larger public campaign defending family values throughout the country. The Government claimed that the advertisement, which aired approximately 273 times, violated a broadcasting law that prohibits advertisements from discriminating based on race, sex, religion, nationality, and opinion. The advertisement, however, showed only actual footage of homosexuals marching and dancing in Gay Pride Day parades and asked the simple and poignant questions: ?Is this the type of society you want?? Are these the examples you want for your children?? ?Proud ... of what?? The ad also sought to oppose Gay Pride Day by recognizing the 364 other days of pride for heterosexuals.

I couldn?t find any authoritative-seeming English language reports related to this, but I?m hesitant to rely too much on such accounts. Still, someone I consulted here at UCLA reports that the account seems largely consistent with reports in El Pais, a prominent Spanish newspaper, in particular this one and this one. If any of you folks can confirm or deny the accuracy of the ECLJ account I quote above, provide more information about more recent developments, or (best of all) point me to the text of the actual Spanish government decision, I would much appreciate it.

Full post as published by The Volokh Conspiracy on September 30, 2010 (boomark / email).