Despite the legislative attempts, the issue did not become a source of public debate until 2006, when openly gay musician and popular radio host Rasmus Rasmussen was assaulted by five men in Tórshavn. Rasmussen's family members then began receiving threatening phone calls. However, the police refused to handle the case because there was no Faroese law banning discrimination against sexual minorities at the time. An internet petition collected 20,000 signatures from different parts of world, most of them coming mainly from Denmark, Iceland and the Faroe Islands themselves, urging the Faroese Parliament to legislate against discrimination based on sexual orientation. At the same time, eight women from Tórshavn also collected 2,000 signatures via e-mail through collecting signatures around Faroese shops, tourist centers and gas stations.