European Union
Meet Poland’s out gay lawmaker fighting for LGBTQ rights
‘We are the most homophobic country’ in Europe
BRUSSELS — Speaking with the Washington Blade outside of the European Parliament building here, Polish lawmaker Robert Biedroń was quick to smile and exuded an unassuming confidence. The openly gay leader has become a well-known figure in the LGBTQ movement in Poland, even as the ruling party has gained international headlines for its anti-LGBTQ stances.
Biedroń grew up in the small southeast city of Krosno, about 80 miles from the Ukrainian border, where he said he struggled to find others who were like him. He said he did not know of a single gay person in his village.
“I was growing up in an area where there was a lot of forest,” he said. “And I had the chance to meet wolves, birds, and foxes. But never any gays.”
Eventually though, Biedroń found books about the LGBTQ experience, and learned of others who were living freely and openly. This opened his eyes and set the course for his career and life.
“The day I found out that there are people who are like me — who can live with dignity,” he said. “This was the day that I knew I’m unstoppable. And nothing will stop me from this fight.”
His home country stands out among European Union countries when it comes to LGBTQ policies. A May ranking by ILGA-Europe, placed Poland at the bottom of the EU, and 42nd of the 49 countries in Europe.
Same-sex couples cannot legally marry in Poland and Article 18 of the Polish Constitution defines marriage as “a union of a man and a woman.” During the 2020 presidential election, leaders of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) Party made headlines, calling LGBTQ identity an imported “ideology.” During this timeframe, various local and regional governments in Poland established primarily symbolic “LGBT Ideology-Free Zones,” which were condemned by the EU.
“We are the most homophobic country on the map of Europe in the EU,” said Biedroń.
Poland is one of the most conservative countries in the European Union and is heavily Catholic. According to the U.S. State Department, roughly 85 percent of the country identifies as Roman Catholic.
Public opinion has lagged behind Western Europe when it comes to support of the LGBTQ community. Forty-seven percent said “homosexuality should not be accepted by society,” when the Pew Research Center conducted a poll, in between 2015 and 2016.
Despite all this, Biedroń, decided to enter activism, co-founding the Campaign Against Homophobia in 2001.
“Because I have only one life,” he said. “There is no other chance. If I wanted to live in dignity — if I wanted to live my full life — I had to do it. Because nobody else would do it. Besides I knew I’m the ‘only gay in the village.’ The wolves and birds will not fight for my life.”
After years of activism, Biedroń decided to enter politics. In 2011, he became the first openly gay member in the Sejm, the lower House of the Polish Parliament. In 2014, he became the first openly gay mayor in the country, taking the top leadership role in the northwest city of Słupsk.
Then in 2019, he founded a new political party called Spring “Wiosna,” which won more than six percent in the European elections. This election sent Biedroń into the European Parliament, as the first openly gay member from Poland.
“The thing I want to achieve,” he said. “Is that at the end of my life, I will say I’ve done everything to be happy. And if this could help other people it will multiply by millions my happiness.”
Poles are set to cast their votes in parliamentary elections this fall. A coalition led by the PiS currently has the majority in the Sejm. Aaron Korewa, the director of the Warsaw office at The Atlantic Council, said that the Sejm is the dominant chamber in Poland.
“It’s whoever wins the majority in the lower house, in the Sejm, that forms a government with a prime minister,” he said.
Biedroń’s domestic political party is called “The Left,” or “Lewica,” although Korewa said that this is not currently a major party. He said the two dominant parties are the PiS, which formed under an alliance called the “United Right,” and the (CO) “Civic Platform” Party.
Korewa said that these parties are dominated by two strong central figures, Jaroslaw Kaczyński from the PiS and Donald Tusk, from the CO.
“It’s basically Donald Tusk and Jaroslaw Kaczyński having at it again for the future of the country,” he said.
Poland does not have a presidential election until 2025. In 2020, Biedroń ran for president, garnering just over 2 percent of the vote. Biedroń remained coy when asked about his intentions to run for president again in the future.
“Of course it’s good to be a president,” he said. “It’s good to be a member of the parliament. But at the end of the day, the best is to be happy. And that’s what I’m fighting for.”
Biedroń’s fight in Brussels and Warsaw might seem far away from those in the United States, but the lawmaker argued that LGBTQ advocates should not become complacent.
“Democracy, human rights, rule of law,” he said, “they’re like beautiful flowers. You need to water them every day. Otherwise, they fade away. And this is the Polish reality of today.”
European Union
European Commission says all EU countries should ban conversion therapy
Recommendation ‘an important step forward for LGBTI rights across Europe’
The European Commission on Wednesday said all European Union countries should ban so-called conversion therapy.
The recommendation comes weeks after the European Parliament voted in favor of prohibiting the widely discredited practice across the EU. More than 1.2 million people signed a campaign in support of the ban that ACT (Against Conversion Therapy) LGBT launched in 2024 through the EU’s European Citizens Initiative framework.
“We warmly welcome today’s commitment from the European Commission to a recommendation on ending conversion practices, an important step forward for LGBTI rights across Europe,” said ILGA Europe in a statement.
Seven EU countries — Belgium, Cyprus, France, Malta, Norway, Portugal, and Spain — have banned conversion therapy outright.
Greece in 2022 banned the practice for minors. German lawmakers in 2020 passed a law that prohibits conversion therapy for minors and for adults who have not consented to undergoing the widely discredited practice.
ILGA Europe said the European Commission’s recommendation “highlights how much work remains to be done.”
“Ending conversion practices cannot stop at symbolic commitments or fragmented national approaches,” stressed the advocacy group. “We need coordinated EU action, proper training for professionals, and survivor-centered support systems that recognize the serious harm these practices cause.”
“More than one million people supported the European Citizens’ Initiative calling for change,” added ILGA Europe. “The message is clear: conversion practices are not therapy or belief, they are a form of violence that Europe can and should end.”
European Union
European Parliament backs EU-wide conversion therapy ban
More than 1.2 million people backed campaign
The European Parliament on Wednesday voted in favor of banning so-called conversion therapy across the European Union.
ACT (Against Conversion Therapy) LGBT in 2024 launched a campaign in support of the ban through the EU’s European Citizens Initiative framework. More than 1.2 million people ultimately signed it.
The proposed ban had the support of 405 MEPs. The European Commission is expected to formally respond to it by May 18.
Seven EU countries — Belgium, Cyprus, France, Malta, Norway, Portugal, and Spain — have banned conversion therapy outright.
Greece in 2022 banned the practice for minors. German lawmakers in 2020 passed a law that prohibits conversion therapy for minors and for adults who have not consented to undergoing the widely discredited practice.
European Union
Top EU court strikes down Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ propaganda law
Ruling issued days after voters outed Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
The European Union’s top court on Tuesday struck down Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ propaganda law.
Hungarian MPs in 2021 approved Act LXXIX of 2021.
“It shall be forbidden to make accessible to persons who have not attained the age of 18 years advertisement that depicts sexuality in a gratuitous manner or that propagates or portrays divergence from self-identity corresponding to sex at birth, sex change or homosexuality,” it reads.
The European Commission in 2022 challenged the law. Sixteen EU countries — Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden — joined the lawsuit. The European Parliament also supported it. Outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, for his part, said his government would defend the law.
The EU Court of Justice heard the case in 2024.
A press release that announced the ruling on Tuesday said Hungary “acted in breach of EU law.”
“The court finds, for the first time, a separate infringement of Article 2 TEU (Treaty on European Union), which lists the values on which the (European) Union is founded and which are common to all the Member States,” it reads. “The aspects of the amending law targeting content which portrays or promotes deviation from the self-identity corresponding to the sex assigned at birth, gender reassignment, or homosexuality constitute a coordinated series of discriminatory measures which are in breach, in a way that is both manifest and particularly serious, of the rights of non-cisgender persons — including transgender persons — or non-heterosexual persons, as well as the values of respect for human dignity, equality and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities.”
“Consequently, that law is contrary to the very identity of the (European) Union as a common legal order in a society in which pluralism prevails,” notes the press release. “Hungary cannot validly rely on its national identity as justification for adopting a law which is in breach of the values referred to above.”
The Háttér Society, a Hungarian LGBTQ rights group, said the ruling “is a milestone for the protection of human rights in the European Union, and it is also a historic victory for LGBTQI people in Hungary.”
The court issued its ruling nine days after Péter Magyar ousted Orbán in Hungary’s elections.
Orbán took office in 2010.
He and his government faced widespread criticism over its anti-LGBTQ crackdown that included laws that banned Pride events and other public LGBTQ events. (Upwards of 100,000 people last June denied the prohibition and marched in Budapest’s annual Pride parade.)
“Those amendments constitute a particularly serious interference with several fundamental rights protected by the (EU) Charter (of Fundamental Rights), namely the prohibition on discrimination based on sex,” notes the court’s press release.
The EU since Orbán took office has withheld upwards of €35 billion ($41.2 billion) in funds to Hungary in response to concerns over corruption, rule of law, and other issues. Magyar has said he will work with Brussels to unfreeze the money.
ILGA-Europe Deputy Director Katrin Hugendubel urged Maygar’s government to repeal the law.
“With this ruling, the CJEU (The EU Court of Justice) is confirming what we have been saying for six years,” said Hugendubel. “There is now no excuse for the Commission not to require Hungary to quickly withdraw the law. Hungary cannot enter a post-Orbán era without repealing this legislation, including the Pride ban.”
“If Péter Magyar truly aims to be pro-EU, he must place this at the top of his agenda for his first 100 days in office, as an essential part of his EU facing reforms,” added Hugendubel.
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