Santiago:
The lower house of Chile's Congress on Wednesday passed most of a law that would make it a crime to discriminate on the basis of faith or sexual orientation, after a gay man was tortured and beaten to death last month by presumed neo-Nazis.
Lower-house lawmakers rejected three clauses that were proposed by the Senate, which passed the bill in November. That means the bill goes back into a joint committee before a final version is produced.
The hate crimes bill was introduced back in 2005 but gained new relevance after the death of Daniel Zamudio, 24, an openly gay man who was beaten and tortured March 3 over a period of six hours.
Pictures released by his family show the attackers wounded Zamudio's head, burned him with cigarettes, and carved Nazi symbols and slogans on his body.
Zamudio died from his injuries on Tuesday.
The bill would make it a crime to discriminate on the basis of criteria that includes race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and gender.
Four suspects arrested in the case, all between the ages of 19 and 25, deny attacking Zamudio and deny being neo-Nazis.
Zamudio's death has raised the issue of gay rights in this conservative mostly Catholic country.
Last year, President Sebastian Pinera proposed a family bill that would allow civil unions for homosexual couples. Lawmakers have yet to consider the measure.