Mexican legislator, singer backtrack from anti-gay remarks

The issue of gay marriage has divided Mexicans and led to some heated debate. Two personalities who recently expressed their opposition to gay rights via ugly remarks were forced to backtrack.

Singer Paquita la del Barrio declared in a TV interview earlier this month that she preferred to see a "child die in the streets from hunger" rather than have the minor adopted by a same-sex couple. Faced with a backlash in Mexico as well as north of the border, Paquita publicly apologized for her comment. Though she defended the meaning behind her comments she also expressed her “deep regret…to the gay community worldwide.” As part of her “regret” she plans to hold a concert tonight at one of Mexico City’s best-known gay nightclubs.

Meanwhile Mexico City legislator Christian Vargas also apologized for commenting that homosexuals shouldn’t adopt since they could “potentially abuse” children. “I wish to apologize to the lesbo-gay community for using inappropriate terms and concepts,” said Vargas last Thursday at a press conference. Vargas- who has been nicknamed "dipohooligan" for several violent public incidents- did not back down from the intent of his statement and he cited a study to supposedly back him up.

In comments to Mexico’s El Universal, the president of the National Council against Discrimination said that the remarks made by Paquita and Vargas should not interfere with the rights of gays:

“It’s a major cultural shift that has been previously seen when granting the right to divorce, women’s suffrage, or recognizing non-traditional families such as those headed by a women,” indicated (Ricardo Bucio Mújica). – [ed. translated text]

Image- Times Online (“The (gay rights) legislation has placed Mexico City at the forefront of long-awaited reforms.”)
Online Sources- CNN, NBC Los Angeles, La Opinion, Los Angeles Times, EPA, Terra.com, Milenio, El Universal