Mexico Supreme Court rules anti-gay words ‘puñal’ and ‘maricón’ are hate speech

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Two common anti-gay words have been outlawed in Mexico.

The Supreme Court ruled “puñal” and “maricón,” which mean faggot, are hate speech and no longer protected as freedom of expression under the constitution, Mexican newspaper Milenio reported Thursday.

A majority of the magistrates voted in favor of a journalist who sued a reporter at a rival newspaper who had written a column referring to him as “puñal” and his colleagues as “maricones," the Associated Press reported.

The magistrates said the terms were “offensive and discriminatory” and constituted hate speech.