Posted by In many countries in Eastern Europe, tolerance toward gays and lesbians is on the rise – but not in Lithuania, the news agency Delfi laments:
“It is true that since 1993 there has been a law prohibiting discrimination against sexual minorities, but in our country gay parades are unimaginable after the 2006 and 2007 law forbidding such gatherings in Vilnius for security reasons. The reason given for this law was the poll results showing that 81 percent of Lithuanians regard homosexuality as a sickness.
… It appears that the majority of Lithuanians live in a different world to that of Western Europeans, where this problem doesn’t exist at all.
… In the end, Lithuania will be forced to adhere to EU norms, no matter how much certain organisations and citizens are against them. We cannot change EU policies, but we have succeeded in presenting ourselves as a nation of homophobic fanatics who don’t respect human rights.”
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I disagree with Judaism; however, I am not going to advocate discrimination against Jews. Similarly, while someone may disagree with homosexuality, they have no right to discriminate against gay people.
It is true that male homosexuality was decriminalised in 1993. Law on equal treatment covering discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation came to force only in 2005, but equality body is weak and politically unwilling to protect LGBT rights.