RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: Where Homophobia Totes a Gun

[Natasha]

RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: Where Homophobia Totes a Gun

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44953
Mario Osava
12/2/2008

BOGOTA, Dec 2 (IPS) - Homosexuals can remain in the closet and not be noticed, but that is not an acceptable alternative for transgender people who suffer violence to a greater extent in Colombia, where armed combatants in the conflicts too often turn prejudice into murder.

"We are not interested in hiding our sexual preference," and in this country "killing is easier" than in others, said Diana Navarro, the head of Corporación Opción, an organisation that works for the rights of prostitutes and transgender people, a term used in Colombia to refer to ->-bleeped-<-s, transsexuals and cross-dressers.