Do the Lhuanian Milary Need Gay Service Members? - LGL

Contents:

• GAY LIFE LHUANIA
• THE LONG JOURNEY OUT OF THE CLOSET FOR LHUANIA’S GAY MUNY
• GAY VILNI
• DO THE LHUANIAN MILARY NEED GAY SERVICE MEMBERS?
• LHUANIA'S 'GAY PROPAGANDA' LAW LOOMS OVER FIGHT FOR SAME-SEX UNNS

GAY LIFE LHUANIA

Here is one of those former Soviet bloc untri where morn “Gay Life Lhuania” is nflict wh old tradns as the untry emerg om the reprsive mentaly that stigmatized and crimalized homosexualy. The ntroversy about gay rights and discrimatn has rulted a legislative ‘war’ between Lhuanian prejudicial anti-gay statut and the European Unn’s standards of tolerance and equaly. Sce the passg of a homophobic law July 2009 that was tend to protect mors om the negative effects of public rmatn–cludg so-lled “advertisg of homosexual, bisexual and polygamo relatns”–crics and fenrs have stumbled over then difficult issue of public homosexualy Lhuania.

THE LONG JOURNEY OUT OF THE CLOSET FOR LHUANIA’S GAY MUNY

The article pertag to the ban on homosexual advertisg, orr, supposedly, to protect mors, will be replaced by a ban on all rmatn which would promise sexual tegry, particularly that of young children. When puti adopt homo-phobic laws, there are no assuranc that the groups of hate-mongers won’t terpret this as a ll to act”, he hammers out, alarmed at the cisns beg ma by legislators.

“The visible cizens”, as they are termed by the soclogists who thored a large-sle survey on homophobia Lhuania, are subject to several forms of discrimatn, most notably the workplace. He claims to have recently been a victim of discrimatn when he requted a day off to participate the ILGA Conference of the European Associatn of Homosexuals, held Vilni 2007, and thereby revealed his sexual orientatn.

GAY VILNI

Given the suatn, as Vladimir Simonko remarks, many young homosexual Lhuanians “seek out plac where they are safe to exprs themselv whout discrimatn and where they n be themselv, whout hidg nor lyg, and where they n image a future”.

Aramantas wrote this reactn to the problems of Lhuania and pared s relig fluence to other Catholic untri: “Gay rights activists and anizers are vilified Catholic Vilni; meanwhile, largely Catholic Mexi has legalized same sex marriage and Brazilian megapolis San Paolo hosted the world’s largt pri event wh over three ln participants early June. And fally, Jonas had this to say: “I saw Gay Pri 2010 Vilni and was very strange; a small, shy monstratn wh mostly foreign people, cludg Polish supporters, lookg like a prott of workers at a supermarket.

DO THE LHUANIAN MILARY NEED GAY SERVICE MEMBERS?

Durg that mpaign members of Lhuanian Parliament were asked to state their opns regardg the harsh posn of Lhuanian Catholic church hierarchy that claims “homosexualy is a perversn”.

LHUANIA'S 'GAY PROPAGANDA' LAW LOOMS OVER FIGHT FOR SAME-SEX UNNS

Lhuanian Gay League is a natnal nonprof, nonernmental anizatn ung homosexual, bisexual, and transgenr persons, a member of the Internatnal Lbian and Gay Associatn (ILGA) sce 1994. The mon tert is to abolish discrimatn and the equaly of lbian, gay and bisexual persons the area of employment and enablg LGBT persons to work unr circumstanc that are equal to their lleagu. Dpe several charg at the barris and smoke bombs, plastic bottl and unoked ssag thrown at police by the anti-gay protters, there was no vlence only 12 arrts, which clud several members of parliament.

There had been mors origatg om the Interim Prosecutor General Raimondas Petrskas that anti-gay radils would attack the participants upon entrance and ex to the para, but when the b rolled up to the perimeter of the fenced area, only the teal fatigu of the Vilni police force uld be seen. Seimas member Rokas Žilskas was posg for the meras wh the huge rabow flag and told Baltic Reports that although he had been skeptil at first, he was out mpaigng for human rights, not only gay rights.