Use of Marriage
Photo Spurs Complaint Against Polish President

A gay New York City man has filed a complaint against the Polish president for using a photo of him and his partner in a national speech condemning homosexual marriage, a Polish official said in comments broadcast Wednesday.

The image of Brendan Fay's wedding with his partner was woven into President Lech Kaczynski's televised address to the nation Monday night. It was shown as the president warned against the dangers of adopting the EU's new treaty and its Charter of Fundamental Rights, which Kaczynski says could open the door to same-sex marriage in Poland.

It was not clear where Kaczynski obtained the picture.

Fay submitted his complaint to the Polish consulate in New York, according to consul Krzysztof Kasprzyk.

''In his letter, Fay expressed his sorrow and regret that his and his life partner's privacy was violated,'' Kasprzyk said in comments broadcast Wednesday on Poland's TVN24 television.

Kasprzyk told Poland's PAP news agency that Fay maintained ''he never would have given the go-ahead to used the photograph from his same-sex marriage.''

Fay also ''expressed frustration that a picture from what he called a joyful day from his life was used to spread intolerance,'' Kasprzyk told PAP.

There is little support for same-sex marriage in Poland, a deeply Catholic country which joined the European Union in 2004. The Polish constitution states that marriage is only between a man and a woman.

As mayor of Warsaw, Kaczynski refused to grant parade permits for gay rights marches, while his twin brother, former prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, has said ''it's not in the interest of any society to increase the number of homosexuals.'' (AP)