Poland's right-wg populist lear Andrzej Duda me to power last year on a platform cryg a ‘LGBT-iology’ he alleged was spreadg throughout his untry at the expense of tradnal fay valu. Now, dozens of Polish municipali have enacted "LGBT iology ee zon" makg members of the gay muny this European Unn member state fear for their safety. Simon Ostrovsky reports om Poland wh support om the Pulzer Center.
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DUTCH TOWN ENDS TI WH POLISH TW CLARED 'GAY-EE ZONE'
Dozens of Polish towns have clared themselv ee of "LGBT iology". It means difficult choic for gay people livg them. * lgbt poland wikipedia *
Signifint progrs has been difficult, sce Poland has been facg a le-of-law crisis gog back to at least 2017, when the right-wg Law and Jtice, or PiS party began spreadg s fluence on key bodi such as the Constutnal crisis the judiciary ns so ep that the EU iated Article 7 proceedgs agast Poland, which spend certa rights for member stat if they are emed to persistently be breach of the EU’s fundamental European Commissn lnched legal proceedgs agast Poland at the European Court of Jtice (ECJ), a se known as Commissn v Poland, and the ECJ orred Poland to spend the laws that terfere wh the pennce of the ignored the the untry’s Human Rights Ombudsman, Marc Wiącek, has cid to tackle both the homophobic rolutns and the falterg legal system at the same Office of the Ombudsman, while formally an stutn fanced by the ernment, exists many untri as an pennt one-man state body wh the mandate to lnch quiri to vlatns of human rights perpetrated by any stutn or body the his electn was marred by difficulty, wh PiS blockg the opposn-backed ndidate for 10 months.
Policians' hostily to gay rights has bee a flashpot, ptg the relig right agast more liberal-md Pol.
And gay people livg the areas are faced wh a choice: emigrate, keep their heads down - or fight back. The stggle for gay rights is a foreign ncept imported om the US and Wtern Europe, he adds, and threatens the tradnal heterosexual Polish fay.
An latn verbal attacks by the Polish ernment, wh the support of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the threat of physil vlence on the streets of many ci, has triggered an exod of gay people. * lgbt poland wikipedia *
Fd out moreWh state-sanctned homophobia and a largely hostile media, Polish gay people risk beg phed back to the closet, pecially small towns. Image ptn, Bart Staszewski SwidnikWhen I arrive on a Saturday morng, half a dozen gay activists are the ma square handg out leaflets, "love is love" stickers and iced doughnuts wh multi-loured sprkl. Their spokman, Bart Staszewski, has anised what he lled a queer tour of Poland's east to show people that gay people are "normal cizens" adds: "We are the rabow myth-bters.
"Swidnik ee of rabow propaganda, " they yell, tryg to drown out the sound of the breezy pop mic g om the speakers of the gay rights activists.
* lgbt poland wikipedia *
" He adds that many gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr Pol have recently emigrated to pe Tuchow, a town of 6, 500 people found medieval tim, which has also clared self ee of "LGBT iology", I meet a gay teenager a lol park. Still, that don't mean is easy to be gay this part of Poland, 100km east of ptn, Poland has been lled the worst untry the EU for LGBT rights"Once, when my boyiend and I were holdg hands", he says, "we heard a few people shoutg nam at . Durg his re-electn mpaign June, Print Duda signed a "Fay Charter, " cludg pledg to prevent gay upl om marryg or adoptg children and to ban teachg about LGBT issu schools.