June is the month when homosexual activists hold their so-called “gay pride” marches. In cities throughout the world, the media are quick to highlight these events as signs of vibrant homosexual militancy. Readers will find plenty of news about the marches as they happen.
However they will not find anything about the controversy surrounding this year’s homosexual march in Warsaw for the simple reason that it didn’t happen.
Poland Rejects Homosexuality
Throughout the month of June, Poles protested in large numbers reflecting the true opinion of this conservative country where the population is overwhelmingly Catholic. In fact, most Poles reject homosexuality based on the Church’s condemnation of the practice. Homosexuals themselves make up a minute part of the population.
However, with Poland’s May 1 entry into the European Union, the nation’s homosexual activists had hoped to put the nation in the limelight with a number of high-profile actions to advance their cause. They announced marches on major Church feast days in Krakow and Warsaw, a step many Poles did not hesitate to see as a provocation.
Krakow Says No!
Homosexual activist expected their May 8 protest in the culture center of Krakow would be the first spark in igniting the issue nationwide.
Perceiving the need to protest against this provocation, the TFP-inspired Fr. Peter Skarga Association for Christian Culture (Stowarzyszenie Kultury Chrzescijanskiej im. Ks. Piotra Skargi) sent nearly 280,000 flyers to Krakow residents who sent protest postcards to the city’s mayor and the rector of the sponsoring Jagiellonian University. Over 30,000 protest post cards flooded both the town hall and university offices.
The promised huge march of homosexual activists fizzled out. Some 100-200 homosexual marchers were joined by about 500 Green Party supporters, feminists, anarchists and socialists. The pro-homosexual march broke up when several hundred pro-family supporters spontaneously gathered to vent their displeasure.
No Pact in Warsaw
Stinging from their defeat in Krakow, homosexual activists hoped that the more liberal capital city of Warsaw might be more amenable to their cause. A Corpus Christi day march was announced which was later changed to June 11 due to religious objections. They also declared that over 7000 marchers were expected to attend.
Responding to the threat, the Fr. Peter Skarga Association for Christian Culture sent nearly 700,000 flyers to Warsaw residents. Readers were urged to send protest postcards to the city’s mayor, Lech Kaczynski, and the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Józef Oleksy.
According to TFP Polish correspondent Valdis Grinsteins, controversy raged around the march as protests piled in. The mayor of Warsaw prohibited the march since it was ever more obvious that residents did not want their city used as a stage for homosexual activism.
When the decision was challenged by homosexual advocates, the mayor reaffirmed the prohibition three times. The activists tried to create a tense situation by announcing they would march illegally.
The March That Wasn’t
As the date of the march neared, the mayor’s office did not back down. The activists even resorted to pie-throwing antics targeting the mayor and other acts manifesting their “tolerance.” They eventually decided to join a protest organized by leftist parties in front of Warsaw City Hall.
On the day of the march, a tiny group of leftists and activists gathered at City Hall. Far from the 7000 people they had threatened to unite, a mere 400 protesters showed up. Counter-protesters also appeared to manifest their protest and take any air of festivity from the event. Pro-family protesters had accomplished their objective, the great Warsaw pride march had failed.
Media portrayals of homosexual events give the impression that the agenda of this tiny minority cannot be defeated. This only adds fuel to the fire for defeatists who argue it does no good to protest against homosexuality. On those occasions, pro-family Americans must redouble their efforts knowing victory is possible. They should point to Warsaw and remember the march that wasn’t.