Riga President Praises Gays After Peaceful Pride
While Russians were furtively showing their pride in Moscow, activists in Riga were facing very vocal anti-gay activists. And Amnesty International was there to film all the homo action.
Official reports estimate that about 300 pro-gay folk were outnumbered by about 400 right wing loonies, who were held off by security forces.
As the anti-gay activists were screaming their heads off, Latvia president Valdis Zatlers was taking a stand for the nation’s same-sex lovers:
I think that the main thing for people is not only to stop being intolerant, but also to understand others. One thing of which I am certainly proud, and of which I am proud whenever I meet with foreigners, is that ours is a democratic country. We have a truly free country in which every citizen has the right to express himself, and that opportunity is respected. I think that these are values from which we must not retreat.
Zatlers’ remarks put him in direct conflict with Catholic Cardinal Jânis Pujâts, who last week penned a letter demanding the government cancel the gay pride march. Obviously Pujâts doesn’t have as much power as he imagined.
Fuck you, Pujats!
And the horse you rode in on.
While it is true that there is much homophobia in Latvia, there are exceptions. When my partner and I went to visit my homeland, all of my relatives welcomed him with open arms. That included my 85 year old great uncle and his 82 year old wife.
“Riga President?” Don’t you mean Latvia President? (Riga is the capital).
That’s lovely, Ivars. Very heartwarming, indeed.