Prayers for the Baltic States in Helsinki Pride Rainbow Mass

Anna Shepherd Helsinki Pride took place last week, culminating in the Pride Parade in which also a small group of Lithuanians took part. The Pride week consisted of a diverse range of events and activities such as panel discussions, art exhibitions, film screenings, workshops, parties and picnics. The programme also included a Rainbow Mass held

Shadow report on Lithuania submitted to UN Human Rights Committee

Lithuanian Gay League in a collaborative effort with the Global Initiative for Sexuality and Human Rights of Heartland Alliance has prepared and submitted a shadow report on Lithuania focusing on LGBT rights. The shadow report has been drawn up for the review of Lithuania before the UN Human Rights Committee on the implementation of the

Lithuanian Parliament rejects anti-gay bill proposal

On 26 June the Parliament rejected the proposal of a legislative amendment which sought to establish harsh fines for the “organization of events contradicting social morality”. The proposal authored by MP Petras Grazulis was registered immediately after European Parliament passed a resolution condemning homophobic laws and discrimination in Europe. 9 votes were in favour and 29

Transport company warned over discrimination based on sexual orientation

The Equal Opportunities Ombudsman in Lithuania has warned a Vilnius transport company over discrimination based on sexual orientation following a complaint made by the Lithuanian Gay League (LGL). A representative of LGL first wrote a private email to the transport company requesting to rent a bus for three hours on 17 May 2012. The company

Lithuania to hold referendum on banning gay adoption and „propaganda“?

Today with initiative from member of Parliamentary Group “Order and Justice” Petras Gražulis, a Seimas decision project was registered by which parliamentarians of the “Order and Justice”Parliamentary Group propose together with this year’s Seimas elections to announce a compulsory referendum on a Law amending Article 38 of theConstitution of the Republic of Lithuania. It is

Catholic clergy praying for people not to go to Lady Gaga’s concert

Sigitas Tamkevičius, Lithuanian archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church, is praying for people not to go to Lady Gaga’s upcoming concert in Vilnius. Lady Gaga, a strong supporter of LGBT rights, is scheduled to perform in Vilnius in late August. Tamkevičius, who currently serves as Archbishop of Kaunas, was quoted in delfi.lt: “We’ll pray for

LGL took part in Baltic Pride 2012

LGL participated in Baltic Pride 2012 with a team of around 25 people. Baltic Pride took place this year in Riga, Latvia, with a week of film screenings, seminars and workshops. The main event, March for Equality, took part on Saturday 2 June in central Riga. The march for LGBT rights and equality gathered in

Polish, Latvian and Lithuanian MEPs least gay-friendly

According to the voting habits of members of the European Parliament on resolutions supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, Polish MEPs are by far the least LGBT-friendly, followed by Latvia, Lithuania and Italy. The friendliest in turn are from Denmark, Estonia and Sweden. Less than 20% of Polish and 36% of Lithuanian MEPs

Lithuanian Parliament votes to „improve“ anti-gay bill proposal

Today a slight majority of the members of the Lithuanian Parliament voted for the „improvement“ of legislative amendment which seeks to establish harsh fines for the „organization of events contradicting social morality”. The proposal was registered immediately after European Parliament passed a resolution condemning homophobic laws and discrimination in Europe. The author of this openly anti-gay

Secretary Clinton releases Annual Human Rights Report

On May 24th US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Michael Posner released the 2011 Human Rights Report. The report covers the status of human rights in countries around the world. According to the report, Lithuania’s most significant human rights problems in 2011 were poor prison conditions,

European Parliament passes resolution condemning homophobic laws

The European Parliament on May 24th adopted a resolution to condemn homophobic laws and discrimination in Europe. The resolution was adopted with 430 votes for and 105 against, and was co-authored by all five mainstream political groups: centre-right EPP, S&D, ALDE, Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL. Two Lithuanian MEPs, Leonidas Donskis and Laima Andrikienė, voted in favour. According

With a large majority (430 for, 105 against), the European Parliament has adopted a resolution to condemn homophobic laws and discrimination in Europe. For the first time since the last European elections, all five mainstream political groups co-authored the text, including centre-right EPP, S&D, ALDE, Greens/EFA andGUE/NGL. In today’s resolution, the European Parliament “strongly condemns any discrimination on the basis of