Controversial statements by the Lithuanian MP Agnė Širinskienė, Chair of the Committee on Health Affairs of Seimas and the member of the Lithuanian Peasant and Greens Union Party, are being debated in the Council of Europe. Being familiar with the MP’s claims that „homosexuality is not an innate trait, but a decision to perform homosexual

Neringa Dangvydė, the author of the fairytale book Amber Heart, has secured her first victory: the court will have to reexamine whether fairytales depicting homosexual characters should be considered as “harmful to minors”. The Supreme Court of Lithuania revoked previous decisions by the Vilnius County Court and Vilnius City District Court and returned the case

MP Širinskienė: Homosexuality is Not a State of Being

During an interview for a debate show “Teisė Žinoti”, broadcasted by Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) on November 27th, 2016 Agnė Širinskienė, MP and the newly elected Chairwoman for the Committee on Health Affairs of Seimas, equated homosexual relations to smoking and drug abuse, when listing examples of lifestyle choices detrimental to one‘s health.

A gay imam, fighting for tolerance

Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed has dedicated his life to fighting against those who believe Islam and homosexuality are incompatible. It’s an uphill struggle and risky, as Naomi Conrad reports. When his mother told him that she no longer thought he was sick and weak, degenerate even, Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed says he felt dizzy, too shocked to feel any

Mika: “Tolerance must be provoked”

A British singer and songwriter Mika, who will perform in Lithuania for the second time in Kaunas Žalgiris arena on the 23d May, 2016 spoke to portal 15min.lt about homophobia and the need to foster tolerance in Lithuania and abroad. You have mentioned that your albums are very personal. I understand that one of them contained

Lithuanian Parliament to Prohibit Joint Adoption by Same-sex Couples

On September 15th, 2015 the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania placed an amendment to the Law on the Fundamentals of Protection of the Rights of Child of the Republic of Lithuania, prohibiting an “adoption of Lithuanian citizens by same-sex couples”, on its agenda for the autumn’s session. The legislative motion was introduced by a

The Baltic Times: Are the Baltics proud of EuroPride?

This June, Riga hosted Europride 2015. Ten years on from when the first Latvian gay pride took place in Riga, several hundred thousand people will come from across the continent to show their support for gay rights. Proof that the Baltic States have become a much more hospitable place for the LGBT community? Perhaps not.

Lithuania grapples with homophobia

Lithuania has recently started discussing its attitudes towards homosexuality, in what remains a novelty for a country ranked among the most homophobic in the EU. While data shows that attitudes remain largely the same, many agree that the debates are proof that a change may be coming, albeit slowly. The discussions were largely sparked by

Opinion: “Do not offend Lithuanians with your happiness”

Rescuing the drowning is the responsibility of the drowning themselves; there is no place for gays, lesbians, transsexuals and other similar people in Lithuanian society. Such were the dominant views expressed after the District Court of Klaipėda reached an official decision regarding the photo of two boys kissing that was posted on Facebook. However, it

On the 17th of June, 2015 the Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Lithuania Juozas Olekas argued that homosexual conscripts are not deprived of the right to serve in the Lithuanian army. Mr. Olekas has been forced to reassure that the country’s military does not discriminate against homosexual conscripts after an army psychiatrist