Loading

A Turning Point An Ultra-conservative Parliament has Empowered Poland's LGBTI Movement

The Law and Justice Party has LGBTI rights in Poland at a standstill. The LGBTI community's increased activism has spurred a new civil partnerships act and heightened support against the party's right-wing rule.

By Holden Aguirre

The Law and Justice Party, along with Poland's President Andrzej Duda, want to bring traditional family values and morals back to Poland, and won't allow for same-sex civil partnerships or marriage equality.

A civil partnerships act draft, created by the Love Doesn't Exclude Organization and the Modern Party of the Polish parliament, is the most progressive act Poland has seen to date.

Along with the new act, Poland will see more equality parades this year than ever before, as the LGBTI community becomes more engaged in response to the conservative climate in the parliament.

Equality in Krakow

The sun was out near Krakow Old Town's main square, a busy tourist destination near the city center. Filip Pinas, a member of the All Polish Youth, an organization for nationalists, smiled from behind his sunglasses, revealing his braces.

“Poland is a 90 percent Roman Catholic country and the bible does not approve of homosexuality,” says Pinas.

Pinas, and more than a dozen other members of the All Polish Youth, gathered to protest the Krakow Equality March that passed through later in the afternoon. While they waited, one member gave speeches and others chanted phrases like "Ban Faggots." Passersby looked curiously on as they stopped to have their picture taken next to the giant, bronze sculpture of the head of Eros, Greek god of love, which the group shared the space with.

Pinas, along with three others held a sign made of thin, white fabric with the words 'W Obronie Tradcyjnego Modelu Rodziny,' or 'In Defense of the Traditional Model of the Family" written across it in black paint.

“We don’t approve that homosexuals should have children, or be seen as couples in the law, because it’s not normal,” says Pinas.

Filip Pinas, along with three others, hold a sign which translates to 'In Defense of the Traditional Model of the Family' at a protest near Krakow's main square on 19 May 2018

Since its beginning, the Krakow equality march has grown from hundreds to thousands of participants.

“They try to make us look like some kind of freaks and people who other people should be afraid of,” says Wiktor Korszla, an attendee of the equality march, about the counter-protest group. “I mean it’s the weirdest thing because we are just normal people, we can love, we can have kids.”

Korszla says civil partnership acts have been proposed in parliament before, but will never pass as long as the Law and Justice Party is in power. As Korszla maneuvers his way through the stream of marchers engulfing the street, rainbow flags raised, he says he thinks things are improving when it comes to support for gay rights.

"So many people are coming to do something good for LGBT Polish people and I think it's getting better," says Korszla.

'let it sparkle among us'

A Spark Ignites

"They are waking up and they are fed up."

Love Doesn’t Exclude, an organization focused on gaining marriage equality in Poland, worked together with the Modern Party to draft the most recent civil partnerships act. Hubert Sobecki, the president of the organization, says it has been eight years since any law has been drafted about formalizing same sex relationships.

“It’s been awhile since the last act was proposed and we need to keep the discussion going around same sex unions,” says Sobecki.

This civil partnership act is considered progressive because it includes adoption rights, a right all other proposed acts have avoided in hopes of increasing the possibility it might pass in parliament. The act also clearly states it is a step towards total marriage equality. Sobecki was involved in drafting three prior acts, all of which failed. Sobecki says it's those failures which led to the creation of this draft.

"There is a Polish proverb that says if you fail asking for a finger, go for the entire hand," says Sobecki. " We went for the entire arm.”

Sobecki says the new act is doomed to fail under the Law and Justice party, but he still sees it as a success.

“The only goal we have right now is to communicate, to spread the word, to disseminate our message and that is what we are doing,” says Sobecki about the fate of the act.

Along with drafting the act, Love Doesn’t Exclude and the Modern Party hold meetings all across Poland to educate those interested in learning more about the LGBTI community and what marriage equality means. Sobecki says turnouts have been large, and surprising.

"This lady from a small town asked for a full marriage equality act to be introduced to the parliament, even though she knew it would never pass, and even knowing that she thought it was a worthwhile goal," says Sobecki.

Sobecki believes the LGBT community in Poland has become more involved in activism due to the Law and Justice Party’s anti-gay rhetoric. For example, this year there will be 11 equality marches in Poland.

“This year it exploded and people started organizing, they started doing something,” says Sobecki. “They are waking up and they are fed up.”

All Polish Youth Protest Near Krakow's main square

Under Law and Justice

In 2015, the Law and Justice Party took power in the Polish parliament. Since then the party has not addressed the lack of rights or protections for the LGBTI community. The 2018 Rainbow Index, published by the International Gay and Lesbian Association-Europe, ranks Poland as the second most homophobic country in the EU.

I support freedom, but we don't believe in granting extra privileges.

"If you ask me about the situation in Poland, I don’t really see any problems,” says Łukasz Schreiber, MP for the Law and Justice Party, about the 2018 Rainbox Index results.

The 2018 Rainbow Index puts Poland at 18 percent, a number measuring LGBTI policies in the region. Poland's percentage has fallen since the 2017 index, when it ranked third, right above Latvia and Lithuania.

"If you ask me about the things the LGBTI society demands, I can't see any possibility for gay marriage or adoption of children," says Schreiber. "I support freedom but we don't believe in granting extra privileges."

In 2017, the current Polish president, and former member of the Law and Justice Party, Andrzej Duda, told Radio Poland there would never be gay marriage in Poland because marriage is between a man and a woman. Out of the 28 countries in the EU, Poland is one of seven which does not allow gay marriage, and one of six banning civil partnerships.

“The meaning of marriage, and one of the most important purposes of marriage, is to have children, that is why the state recognizes heterosexual marriages and gives them special privileges,” says Schreiber.

Schreiber says the most recent civil partnerships act would never be legalized because it would allow LGBTI people to adopt children, which he says is unnatural and would bring children harm.

“It is not just about morals and ethics, it is mostly about biology and the traditional family is the natural environment to raise children,” says Schreiber.

Krakow Equality March, 19 May 2018

A Step Forward

"What we see is a constant, and very positive trend, of increasing acceptance from Polish society," says Marek Szolc, a lawyer for the Modern Party, and who helped draft the latest civil partnerships act.

"The more we talk about it, the more courageous acts we propose, the more the LGBT community educate the Polish people, the better this support is," says Szolc.

It shows that this change can be very rapid, it can be very deep, and we hope that in Poland something like this will also happen.

Currently, the Modern Party holds 22 seats in the Polish Parliament and has a 3 percent public approval rating. With the Law and Justice Party holding 237 seats, the Modern Party has little sway over what happens with the civil partnerships act.

"Even though this act will not pass now, by introducing a bill for civil unions it will build strong support for other progressive changes in legislation, because that’s what happened in other countries, " says Szolc.

One notable example of this is in the United Kingdom. Up until 1967 homosexuality was a criminal offense. After decriminalization, legislation and activism led the UK to becoming one of the most LGBTI-friendly countries in the world.

"It shows that this change can be very rapid, it can be very deep, and we hope that in Poland something like this will also happen," says Szolc.

Monika Rosa, an MP for the Modern Party and co-creator of the civil partnerships act, believe Polish society is ready to accept same sex civil unions.

“Everything is changing now because the far-right government is in Poland and they are trying to decrease our rights,” says Rosa. “I strongly believe people will be against them in local elections, and then parliamentary elections. Things will change.”

Rosa and Szolc say the Modern Party will not stop fighting for the LGBTI community. They say there is still plenty of legislation that needs to be changed, and come the 2018 local elections, the possibility for more LGBT-friendly policies will be increased.

"This I believe is a first small step to building a quality life for LGBT people in Poland, and in the future when we manage to oust the conservative government we have right now, build even further support for the civil partnerships to enter in course and then for full marriage equality to be passed by the parliament,” says Szolc.

Created By
Holden Aguirre
Appreciate

Credits:

Holden Aguirre 

Report Abuse

If you feel that this video content violates the Adobe Terms of Use, you may report this content by filling out this quick form.

To report a Copyright Violation, please follow Section 17 in the Terms of Use.