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Pride

Polish, Romanian Pride Parades Draw Thousands

Poland Pride marchers
AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

The nations aren't LGBT-friendly, but residents are demanding their rights, buoyed by a recent European Union court ruling.

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Poland and Romania, countries not known for LGBT acceptance, saw thousands turn out for Pride festivities this weekend, with participants encouraged by a recent European Union court ruling that ordered recognition of the rights of same-sex couples.

"A party-like atmosphere prevailed at the parade in Warsaw as people waved rainbow flags and danced. Some had signs and T-shirts with messages of tolerance or sass, including one of Russian President Vladimir Putin holding a rainbow," the Associated Press reports.

"The worse the political atmosphere, the better the atmosphere at the parade," participant Michal Niepielski told the news service at Saturday's parade.

Thousands also celebrated Saturday in Bucharest, the capital of Romania. One of the attendees, Emil Rengle, said he wanted opponents of same-sex relaionships to know "We love differently because God created us differently," the AP reports.

This week, Melchior Wathelet, the advocate general of the European Court in Luxembourg, issued an opinion that Romania and all member states of the E.U. must recognize residency and other rights of same-sex spouses, whether or not they allow same-sex marriages. The opinion came about after Romanian officials refused to grant residency to Claibourn Hamilton, an American who married his Romanian partner, Adrian Coman, in Brussels in 2010.

Most E.U. nations allow same-sex marriages or civil unions, but Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, and Latvia do not.

But LGBT people in these countries appear energized. A record 12 Pride marches are scheduled in Poland this year, and the number includes five cities holding them for the first time.

"People are fed up with feeling like they are under a boot and being trampled down," Hubert Sobecki, president of Love Does Not Exclude, a group working for marriage equality in Poland, told the AP. "And they are reacting, they are organizing, they are resisting."

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Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.