An estimated 5,000 people took to Warsaw’s streets Saturday to celebrate the Polish towns gay pride. While the majority of Poland’s Catholic citizens disapprove of homosexuality, the day passed by relatively peacefully. Past pride events have been marred by violence, but Saturday’s only hit a few bumps as a few dozens protesters lobbed Biblical references and moral condemnations, resulting in a few arrests.
Parade organizer Tomasz Baczkowski praised his country’s prideful progress:
This was the largest parade we’ve held in Poland. Polish society has opened its eyes and they know what democracy, equality and diversity mean.
Baczkowski’s statements are only partly true. The march came days after the education minister put forth a series of anti-gay reforms.
Additionally, while Warsaw allowed the parade to go forth – and many other Polish towns prohibited such gay display – critics claim Warsaw mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz Walz only allowed the march because of a recent European Parliament ruling criticizing Poland’s pride prohibition.
Gay people may have ruled the streets on Saturday, but things were very different on Sunday, when thousands marched for so-called “family rights”. The aforementioned education minister, Roman Giertych remarked:
How about we take this to the next level?
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I think that one has to oppose what happened here yesterday. Revolting pederasts came here from many countries and tried to impose their propaganda on us.
Thousands march in Warsaw’s gay rights parade [IHT]
Gay Poles march with Pride in Warsaw [Pink News UK]
Hundreds of Poles march in support of traditional family values [IHT]
