You've Got To Have Pride
Over the weekend, defiance, colour and controversy snaked its way through city streets around the globe, as gay pride was celebrated in cities in Greece, Turkey, Italy, Poland and America.
2000 people took to the streets in Athens, Greece on Saturday. The parade was led by one of the four newlyweds who were married last week by the Mayor of Greek Island Tilos. A bunch of right wing conservatives who attempted to disrupt the parade were eventually moved on by police.
In Istanbul protests against the Turkish government erupted in response to a recent decision to shut down gay rights organisation LambdaIstanbul. Their reason? They felt the group not only violated the constitutional protection of the family, it also had “objectives that violate law and morality.” On Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul, blindfolded men wore white and held the scales of justice, while onlookers held placards.
On Saturday, tens of thousands turned out to march in Rome and Milan’s gay pride parades, singing and dancing, carrying rainbow flags and wearing flamboyant outfits. Their message, while joyous, was also anti-Vatican, criticising its opposition to same-sex unions. Italy’s minister of equal opportunities was under fire for refusing to support past pro-gay protests.
On Sunday, around 2000 people paraded through the streets of Warsaw against a strong backdrop of police, who were there to protect demonstrators from the extreme right wing groups. It was the third gay pride parade since the event was banned by the government in 2004 and 2005.
Meanwhile in Los Angeles the gays are riding high on their recent gay marriage win. On Sunday, floats celebrating gay marriage were amongst the 125 parade entries and it’s estimated that some 175,000 people took part in the overall celebrations. Olivia Newton-John, who partied with us at Mardi Gras this year, performed at their after party.
Photos: 1. Istanbul, 2. Los Angeles, 3. Rome, 4 and 5. Los Angeles.
All About
Your Thoughts
Hey there, you need to be logged in to get involved with SameSame, click here to login if you're already a member, or here if you need to become a new member.
shyish
said ages ago