Being LGBTQ In Poland: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Poland is not a country with a reputation for being LGBTQ-friendly. In fact, it's one of the worst countries in Europe when it comes to LGBTQ rights. So how do LGBTQ women live there? How LGBTQ rights are evolving? Here's the answer.

A recent bill in Switzerland has given all LGBTQ people the right to legally marry. This is an incredible victory for us queer folk! That being said, there are still many hurdles that we have in the country and in the rest of Europe.

The Methodist Church has finally voted in favor of same-sex marriages. This is a huge step forward for the LGBTQ+ community and an important victory for marriage equality.

The Hungarian Parliament voted on a bill that prohibits the discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation.

France is slowly but surely moving towards improving the rights of LGBTQ people.

The European Union is mobilizing to advance the rights of LGBTQ people in Europe. After years of watching but not really acting, the EU under a woman's presidency is sanctioning policies against the LGBTQ community.

Lithuania is a country where neither equal marriage nor civil unions are open to same-sex couples. As a result, a bill called the “Partnership Law” was introduced in parliament to open civil unions to same-sex couples.

Since 2006, only civil unions have been open to same-sex couples in the Czech Republic. Thus, a bill was recently introduced in the House to legalize marriage equality in the country.

I’ve been telling you a lot lately about what’s happening in Poland, about the anti-LGBTQ stances, about the so-called “free of LGBTQ” zones, about the sanctions taken by the European Union, and about the so-called “LGBTQ Freedom Zone”, but today I’d like to show you the concrete consequences of the resolution of the so-called “LGBTQ-free zones” because you’d think that nothing would happen to those municipalities who signed this resolution.

Well, think again, it hits home, and it hurts, as the mayor of Krasnik, Wojciech Wilk, found out.

Switzerland legalized marriage equality last December, becoming the 29th country in the world to open marriage to same-sex couples. But in Switzerland, a law can be overturned by referendum, even legislators have just approved the law.