Gay pride parade turnouts defy conservative times

WARSAW, POLAND — The capitals of Poland and Romania hosted festive gay pride parades that attracted thousands of people Saturday, as emboldened participants vowed to keep pushing for the eventual freedom to marry the person of their choice.

A party-like atmosphere prevailed at the parade in Warsaw as people waved rainbow flags and danced.

Some had signs or T-shirts with messages of tolerance or sass, including one of Russian President Vladimir Putin holding a rainbow.

The celebratory mood could not be conquered even though same-sex marriage has no real chance of being legalized under Poland’s current conservative government.

“The worse the political atmosphere, the better the atmosphere at the parade,” observed Michal Niepielski, 55, a radio technician from Krakow.

Niepielski attended the event with his partner of 14 years, Wojtek Piatkowski, who called the high spirits a “backlash” against the Polish government. The couple wore matching rainbow suspenders and bow ties.

In the Romanian capital of Bucharest, the rights of same-sex couples also took centre stage during a gay pride parade that came days after a major ruling in a marriage case.

The European Court of Justice ruled Tuesday that two men — one Romanian, the other American — are entitled to the same residency rights as other married couples in the European Union.

While the ruling doesn’t oblige individual EU member countries to legalize samesex marriages, it could presage rulings in other pending cases that LGBT rights advocates would consider favourable.

Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Latvia are the EU countries that don’t recognize same-sex couples.