Spanish police seize Catholic group’s anti-transgender bus
06.03.17
(Gender-based discrimination / Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity)
Police in Madrid have banned a bus emblazoned with the anti-transgender message: “Boys have penises, girls have vulvas. Do not be fooled.”
Catholic group Hazte Oir, which translates as “Make Yourself Heard”, was about to embark on a nationwide tour in their bright orange bus when Spanish authorities impounded the vehicle, branding the tour “a hate campaign based on intolerance”.
The Catholic group is thought to have launched the campaign in response to posters put up in northern Spain by transgender rights group Chrysallis which read: “There are girls with penises and boys with vulvas. It’s as simple as that.”
Hazte Oir launched a petition to ban the posters, but did not manage to gather enough signatures.
Purificacion Causapie, a spokeswoman for the socialist party, said the bus was “contrary to the dignity and rights of transsexual children”, and urged the mayor to ensure that Madrid remained “a city free of discrimination, violence and attacks on minors”.
Madrid’s mayor Manuela Carmena said she wanted the bus to leave the city “as soon as possible”.
Members of Hazte Oir said the ban was illegal and that they plan to acquire a new bus.
