#WORLD #WORLDWIDE #FRANCE #ANARCHISM #News #Journal #Update - (en) France, UCL AL #322 - Antipatriarchy, Europe: freedom-killing laws for LGBTI people (ca, de, it, fr, pt)[machine translation]

 In recent months, several European countries have seen the emergence of laws and

legislative proposals that restrict the rights of LGBTI people. Far-right
governments, police forces, churches and reactionaries are increasing the attacks
and the consequences are dramatic. ---- Violence against LGBTI people
crystallized during Pride season . The demonstrators were regularly confronted
with verbal and physical violence of various magnitudes. This violence is
sometimes state-sponsored, other times encouraged or ignored by these states.
This year is particularly marked by LGBTIphobic attacks and rights abuses.
The law at the service of reactions
In Spain, July 2021, a demonstration against homophobia, following the murder of
a young gay man, is heavily charged by the police. In Bulgaria, the LGBTI center
in Sofia was attacked and destroyed in October. The neo-Nazi leader of this
attack, Boyan Rasate, is known for his LGBTIphobic positions and attacks. He is
currently a presidential candidate in the country. He was arrested following this
attack, but in Bulgaria acts of LGBTI discrimination are not recognized by the
courts.

Shortly before, the Constitutional Court of Bulgaria had decreed that "gender" is
a biological notion, which marks the beginnings of transphobic discrimination to
come. Calling the leader the attack a free electron is not enough to hide the
country's extreme right-wing turn and state positions against LGBTI people.

In Italy, the country refused to pass a law criminalizing acts of discrimination
and incitement to violence against gay, lesbian, transgender and disabled people.
In October, the far right lobbied for the Senate to reject the law. As a
reminder, gay or lesbian marriage is not allowed and adoption by homosexuals is
prohibited.

In July in Georgia, the Pride of Tbilisi could not be held because of attacks of
the Catholic extreme right. The demonstrators were attacked verbally, physically,
their materials destroyed. A journalist who covered Pride , Rati Tsverava, was
grabbed by Orthodox priests and beaten in front of a church. As soon as the Pride
of Tbilisi was announced, it was threatened by the extreme right and the Church:
at the end of June, Bishop Spiridon had called to mobilize "against the Sodomites
and the shameless people[in order to]do not allow these perverts" to organize the
march scheduled for July 5th. The Prime Minister himself spoke out against: "
Holding a so-called pride march is unreasonable as it creates the threat of civil
confrontation" . A Georgian businessman , Levan Vassadzé, even issued an
ultimatum to the government to cancel Pride .

This same man had, in 2019, claimed to have created militias armed with sticks to
"hunt homosexuals in the streets" and an armed masculinist group, the "Council of
real men[to]eradicate sin and heresy" . This is not Georgia's first LGBTIphobic
event. In 2019, hundreds of far-right activists burned rainbow flags in Tbilisi
to protest against the screening in cinemas of the film And Then We Dance , on
the theme of homosexuality.

European Union: insufficient sanctions
In the latest LGBTIphobic news from Poland, a homophobic bill banning Pride
marches has just reached the National Assembly, via a petition that has collected
more than 140,000 signatures. Poland has long been talked about for its
LGBTIphobic and anti-feminist state attacks. The return to power of the far right
since 2015 has given rise to discriminatory projects such as "zones without LGBT
ideologies" in hundreds of local authorities since 2019 (a third of Polish
territory) and the "charter of the rights of families". These laws allow the
exclusion of LGBTI people and are justified by a strong Catholic tradition. The
European reaction consists of economic penalties to push for the withdrawals of
its laws. Hungary is also financially sanctioned by the European Union following
a law prohibiting "the representation or promotion" of homosexuality or gender
change among minors, adopted in June.

European sanctions consist in requesting the withdrawal of its laws, and in the
event of non-compliance with European law, the Commission may request the
referral of States to the court of justice and request financial sanctions.

But while the financial threat appears to be working, the withdrawn laws will no
longer protect LGBTI people from the discrimination and violence they face in
their countries. As a reminder, in Poland, abortion is penalized except in cases
of rape, incest or endangering the mother. This law banning free abortion
continues to kill people. Recently a woman died of sepsis, following doctors'
decision to wait until her fetal heart stops beating before treating her.
Financial sanctions or speeches from the European Union will not change the
material conditions of gender and sexual minorities nor their endangerment by
state positions.

This short panorama allows us to realize concretely the danger of an extreme
right in power. Strong disparities exist between European states, both in terms
of laws and respect for LGBTI rights. Protective laws, when they exist, are not
necessarily applied, discrimination little condemned, and a change of government
can make them disappear.

The dangers of an extreme right in power
Although patriarchal violence emanates from all political stripes, the threat
from the far right is greater. By obtaining places in assemblies, senates or in
European governments, far-right parties have the free way to establish their
LGBTIphobias. Violence then becomes state. Harder to fight, it is no longer to be
condemned and has significant resources at its disposal. It is essential to
support and mobilize ourselves in LGBTI struggles now, especially since the
presidential campaign has been launched in France and the LGBTIphobic speeches of
the far right are very present.

Louison (UCL Marseille) and Eden (UCL Nancy)

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Europe-des-lois-liberticides-pour-les-personnes-LGBTI
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