Polish MEP disgracefully denies the existence of ‘LGBT-free zones’. He claims they’re just a ‘joke told by left-wing activists’
‘LGBT-free zone’ stickers were distributed by a Polish conservative newspaper, Gazeta Polska. (GPtygodnik/ Twitter)
A Polish member of the European Parliament said Monday (14 September) that “LGBT-free zones” do not exist in Poland and are just a “joke told by left-wing activists”.
As countless lawmakers tore into Polish president Andrzej Duda during a debate on the country’s current state of LGBT+ rights and the rule of law, PiS MEP Patryk Jaki said there are no “so-called LGBT-free zones” and claimed left-wing activists “sent you pictures, and you fell for it,” tvn.24 reported.
In contrast, German MEP Terry Reintke emphatically lambasted Poland and its leaders for singling out the LGBT+ community, following a relentless wave of vitriol that has spurred a surge in hate crime as well as police crackdowns on activists.
A member of the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights, Reintke said: “We are not an ideology. We are human beings.
“All we have asked is to have exactly the same human rights as everyone else.
“To Duda and the ruling Polish party: Stop using the LGBTI community for your disgusting political agenda.”
We are not an ideology. We are human beings. All we asked is to have exactly the same human rights like everyone else. 🏳️🌈🇪🇺🇵🇱
To Duda and the Polish ruling party:
Stop using the LGBTI community for your disgusting political agenda.#Poland pic.twitter.com/vHe96prhaX
— Terry Reintke (@TerryReintke) September 14, 2020
As anger grows, one-third of Poland is an ‘LGBT-free zone’.
Over the last year, Poland has become a patchwork of “LGBT-free zones” across 100 municipalities – more than one-third of the country.
Such hate has found itself not only emboldened, but also validated and whipped up by Poland’s populist governing party, Law and Justice.
Government leaders have sought to position LGBT+ “ideology” as a threat to a rosy view of so-called family values, and often compare it to “communism“, wrapping up the LGBT+ Pride flag in a tense culture war that is fracturing the country.
The red area shows the municipalities in Poland that have signed the ‘LGBT-free’ pledge. (Atlas of Hate)
European Union officials have increasingly grappled with ways to reel in Poland’s treatment of LGBT+ people, imposing financial sanctions on “LGBT-free” towns by denying them funds for its town twinning programme.
On Monday, vice president of the European Commission Vera Jourova further stressed that the EU will not tolerate Poland’s treatment of LGBT+ people.
