It’s Pride month across the world, but that hasn’t deterred Poland‘s President Andrzej Duda signing one of the most anti-LGBT+ charters in the EU.

The charter defends the “institution of marriage” which means that there is no acceptance of gay marriage.

He’ll also refuses to accept allowing gay couples to adopt children

and says that he will protect children from an “LGBT ideology”.

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Poland’s biggest LGBTQI-organisation KPH (Campaign Against Homophobia) have criticised the President, saying that he is using the anti-gay charter as a way of bolstering his presidential campaign ahead of the elections on the 28th June 2020

In a statement they wrote, “We have no doubt that he’s just playing his presidential campaign game trying to gain the electorate by setting it on LGBT persons.”

“A choice between European values and Russian traditional values”

Rémy Bonny an expert on LGBTQI-politics in Central & Eastern Europe told us, “The elections are a choice between European values and Russian traditional values – a choice between democracy and autocracy. The elections will eventually decide on the future of Poland within the European Union.

“Over the last decade, the LGBTQI-community became well-organised and very visible in Poland. The government is afraid that a professional and vibrant civil rights movement would overthrow their corrupt and elitist rule for a real equality-based government.

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No such thing as “LGBT Ideology”

The Polish activists from KPH directly reach out to President Duda in an open letter to say,

“Mister President, let us say it out loudly and clearly once again: there is no such thing as the ‘LGBT ideology’ – it’s just a homophobic construct. LGBTs are lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender persons who personally experience the consequences of homophobic and transphobic hate which you also fuel.

“Those people are Kacper, Dominik and Milo, who are no longer here with us, because the homophobic propaganda of the profit-oriented authorities killed them.

 “It’s time to change it and we will do it! We will remember about it, Mister President and we will settle accounts with you by the ballot boxes. Let June 28th be the day when freedom, respect and mutual solidarity in Poland prevails!”, KPH concludes

The LGBTQI-community is in the frontline of the far-right PiS-government’s fight against liberal democracy.”, Bonny continues.