Eastern Europe was once a world lear on gay rights. Then ran out of spegoats | CNN

Contents:

• GAY ROMANIA
• EASTERN EUROPE WAS ONCE A WORLD LEAR ON GAY RIGHTS. THEN RAN OUT OF SPEGOATS
• GAY LIFE ROMANIA
• GAY BUCHART

GAY ROMANIA

The 20th anniversary of the abolishment of Article 200, which thorized prison sentenc of up to five years for same-sex relatns, was one e for celebratn durg the gay pri para and ftival held Romania’s pal this month. BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — The last person jailed for beg gay Romania walked ee untry crimalized homosexualy three years after that, 2001, while reformg s laws to qualify for membership the European 20th anniversary of the abolishment of Article 200, which thorized prison sentenc of up to five years for same-sex relatns, was one e for celebratn durg the gay pri para and ftival held Romania’s pal this month. Some Romanians, fluenced by the Orthodox church, reject the growg social acceptance of lbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgenr people, pecially among young people.

A new law that took effect Hungary this summer banned the pictn of homosexualy films, books and other ntent tend for dienc unr 18. Dozens of muni Poland have passed largely symbolic anti-LGBT rolutns amid a nservative backlash that began more than two years Romania, lawmakers om two parti, cludg a junr partner the untry’s erng aln, plan to troduce legislatn next month that would ban so-lled “gay propaganda” schools.

While there is growg support for LGBT rights among young Romanians, too many Romanians do not know anyone who openly intifi as gay, Ion-Rota said.

EASTERN EUROPE WAS ONCE A WORLD LEAR ON GAY RIGHTS. THEN RAN OUT OF SPEGOATS

Romania is a socially nservative untry, and that is reflected s attus towards gay and transgenr muni. However, the untry’s gay scene is gradually growg and fely a place that should be on everyone’s mt-see list.

The good news is, homosexualy is legal Romania, and there is a range of anti-discrimatn laws place. In fact, the past three s have seen huge progrs for LGBT rights Romania: homosexualy was wholly crimalized (1996), the age of nsent was equalized (2002), anti-discrimatn laws the workplace and regardg the provisn of servic were troduced (2000). In fact, the only law agast gay cizens Romania is that prohibg same-sex marriage; this is unlikely to change any time soon given that public opn, unr the fluence of the church, is still very much agast .

Currently, relig and nservative anizatns are mobilizg to hold a referendum on amendg the nstutn so that will enshre marriage as ‘between a man and a woman’; this would make legalizg gay marriage much more difficult and is seen by many as a step backwards. Dpe the legal support place for the LGBT muny, the social suatn for gay people Romania is still very challengg.

GAY LIFE ROMANIA

Unsurprisgly, given the circumstanc, many thk of the gay muny as ‘sick’ or ‘immoral.

There have been hostile reactns to Gay Pri march and gay ftivals, particularly om far-right groups like Noua Dreaptă.

GAY BUCHART

In 2013 an EU survey listed Romania third among untri wh the hight levels of homophobia the EU.

Many gay and lbian Romanians hi their sexualy, particularly if they live outsi of Buchart and other major urban areas.

Thanks to the efforts of advocy anizatns like ACCEPT Romania, attus are slowly changg, and the gay muny is beg more open and active across the untry, although there is still a sizable gap between cy and untry. So What Do This Mean For Gay Travelers? While overall public attus towards the LGBT muny are still que negative, gay travelers should not allow this to put them off gog to this betiful untry; however, people should be aware of the potential hostily they uld enunter.