Picnic against homophobia during family defense march: attendees said it was important to resist darkness and hatred

As announced, the Vilnius city municipality has issued three permits for the so-called anti-limitation of the Great March for the Defense of the Family.

Two smaller gatherings are planned in Žvėrynas, near the footbridge to Vingis park. Largest: in the center of the capital, near the White Bridge.

The latest event, as announced on Facebook, was organized by the association that unites LGBT + students, employees and alumni of Vilnius University and their supporters, together with the Fridays For Future Vilnius movement. 15 minutes).

He wants to show what happy families are like

Jokūbas, representative of Fridays For Future Vilnius, one of the organizers of this event, explained that the picnic was organized as an alternative to the family march.

“We saw this event, which was organized theoretically to protect families, but realistically, to arouse hatred for all the things that are unacceptable to people of that opinion,” he said.

According to Jacob, the event wanted to show his vision of what a happy family would be like that loves love, care and mutual trust.

“His idea of ​​family is very narrow, specific and concrete. The idea of ​​our family is very broad and we want to show that all families can be different. The most important thing is that they love and trust each other, ”said an organizer of the event.

The idea of ​​our family is very broad and we want to show that all families can be different.

“The real family march is here”

According to Eve, who attended the picnic, she is here because she wants to be in solidarity with the community which, in her opinion, is currently facing undeserved pressure and a certain wave of hatred from the majority of society.

“I mean those people who build relationships and love people of the same sex and ask for their constitutional rights to be guaranteed. “They do not ask for more than that it belongs to them according to our main supreme document and according to all basic human rights standards,” he said.

Another reason Eve attended this event, she said, is that the Long March for the Defense of the Family shows a dangerous tendency for other human rights initiatives to be negatively accepted.

For example, due to science-based sex education, a woman has the right to choose whether or not to terminate a pregnancy.

“It seems that the same group of people who oppose the LGBT association also oppose these progressive decisions.” I really wouldn’t want to live in a state where these things exist, progressive science-based information that prevents things like depression, suicide and simply pushing a part of society to the margins, “said Ieva.

A young woman who attended the event on the White Bridge with her husband and young daughter also explained that it is very important to resist the darkness and hatred, not to be apathetic about what is happening in Lithuania.

He talked about how half the country seems to believe conspiracy theories, they are homophobic.

According to the woman, the march in Vingis Park is not a family march.

“It’s just a march of dark people, who don’t read books, sit on Facebook and follow various people who incite hatred,” he thinks.

The man who accompanied her added that the royal family march takes place here on the White Bridge.

“Because I don’t know if my daughter will be a lesbian. I want her to be able to live how she feels. The real family marches here, not the homophobes in the car, ”said the Frenchman.

“For love, for freedom, for one’s own values, for equal rights, for friends, for family,” Gabriela explained why she came to the event.

The girl said she is Catholic, believes in God, attends church.

He mentioned that the Bernardine Church he attends proclaims tolerance, acceptance of values ​​such as love, non-rejection.

According to her, the tension between their communities is very high. But in their eyes, the greatest value is love.

Especially since you have to love your brother and sister, just another neighbor as yourself, after all, the very commandments of God. The most important thing is to let yourself be, be, accept yourself and agree ”, Gabriela is convinced.

Homophobia is toxic

“Homophobia is toxic. 5-8 thousand a column of cars in Lithuania and a concentration of thousands of people in the Vingis park during the epidemic, even more poisonous. We invite you to clean toxins from the body together, “he writes in the description of the event on the social network.

The organizers invited people from all over Lithuania to think of bicycles decorated with LGBTQ + attributes one by one or with friends.

Vilnius residents are invited to a picnic with a picnic for the LGBTQ + community at the White Bridge at 7pm

During the picnic, we will talk about the experiences of different families in Lithuania, representatives of the University’s LGBT + group, Fridays For Future Vilnius, will speak. There will also be open mic queer poetry readings: everyone who wants to read the text of their own creator or another queer creator, share experiences, make a speech. If so, choose the LGBTQ + attributes. We will all be together at a safe distance, we will enjoy the impressive weather and avoid the poison of homophobia ”, reads the invitation to the event posted on Facebook.

Permission to gather for 7 thousand

The big family defense march in Vilnius was supposed to start at 6 pm People from all over Lithuania are invited to this event.

Some of the first inhabitants of western Lithuania moved to the capital.

Kaunas residents and people from surrounding municipalities also joined the column of cars leaving Kaunas near Kaunas..

The description of the event indicates that it intends to unite against “aggressive sexist propaganda carried out by methods of ideological warfare and laws drawn up by the ruling majority.”

It is explained that the participants of the event “will give unanimous testimony to the determination of the vast majority of Lithuanian citizens to defend the rights of Lithuanian families and the legal and social order established in the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.”

The great family defense march looks ambiguous.

As he wrote 15 minutes, has recently been named leader and scriptwriter protester of a social network Statements by Artūras Orlauskas threatening to “destroy all the Seimas”, parliamentarians call word without censorship, called for the siege of parliament until it obeyed the demands.

The Vilnius City Municipality has issued a permit to organize a campaign in Vingis Park, in which 7 thousand people can participate. people. Although the quarantine release allows events for up to 150 people.

However, representatives of the municipality assured that they could not prohibit the protest and the organizers said that this would be a protest and not an event.

Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė said the event should be subject to quarantine requirements..