Dear friends,
This month, for the first time in history, we're planning to celebrate Pride in Tbilisi, the capital city of my home country Georgia in Eastern Europe.
It's a huge opportunity to show the public that we exist and we demand equal rights, in a country where homophobia and attacks on our community are still commonplace.
But after announcing our Pride event, radical hate groups started sending us violent threats. In response, our government is urging us to cancel the march and refuses to provide us with any protection.
They want to put us back into the closet, but we're not backing down!
Instead of giving in to the threats of bullies and thugs, it's the government's responsibility to ensure that we can march safely and peacefully.
50 years ago, the Stonewall Riots paved the way for an incredible movement across the world. Like generations of activists before us, we have been inspired by the bravery of those protesters in New York who stood with pride and defiance against the brutality of the police.
Their fight continues here in Georgia today, where we're still facing threats and violence by radical religious and far-right groups.
Luc, we want to join the rest of the world in celebrating Pride on this historic anniversary – we plan on marching on June 23. But we need to make sure that every person attending our march will be safe.
Thanks for going All Out,
Giorgi Tabagari
Director, Tbilisi Pride
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