Polish 'LGBT-Free' Cities See Funding Cut by European Union

Thanks to state-sanctioned bias, six cities in Poland will lose funding from the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union.

The commission announced that six cities that recently declared themselves "LGBT-free" zones -- effectively announcing hostility to queer denizens and visitors -- would be denied the opportunity to "twin" with other E.U. cities and obtain tens of thousands in euros that could pay for conferences and other generators of tax revenue.

E.U. Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli tweeted that the anti-LGBTQ+ actions of the unnamed Polish cities conflict with E.U. values. E.U. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen echoed that sentiment in her own tweet.

Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro blasted the European Commission's decision, saying it should respect the views of all member nations, even if discriminatory.

Homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia have been a potent force in Poland for decades. Voters just reelected Andrzej Duda, Poland's conservative president who ran on a campaign of banning both same-sex marriage and LGBTQ-inclusive school curricula.