The European Parliament, responding to a mid-March statement by a deputy education minister in Poland that the nation was drafting a law to fire teachers who “promote homosexuality”, adopted a resolution condemning Poland's leaders for their ongoing hateful policies against gays, and asked EU anti-racism experts to investigate “the emerging climate of racist, xenophobic and homophobic intolerance in Poland”.
According to the BBC, parliament held a debate over the issue on Wednesday, on which several Polish MEPs walked out: “British gay MEP Michael Cashman said a country that had lived under repression should know the value of fundamental human rights. ‘You should be teaching us about fundamental values and that is why we will not hesitate to defend human rights and human rights' defenders wherever they are,' he said. But Polish MEP Witold Tomczak said homosexuality was against the law of nature, and called on “so-called defenders of human rights” to tackle ‘discrimination against normal families…Every person has a right to life and deserves respect and help, including one who – lost and scarred – has given into homosexual tendencies. The solution is to help those who suffer and to provide them with the cure that they expect us to deliver.'”
Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski was quick to respond to the resolution. Said Kaczynski: “Nobody is limiting gay rights in Poland. However, if we're talking about not having homosexual propaganda in Polish schools, I fully agree with those who feel this way. Such propaganda should not be in schools; it definitely doesn't serve youth well. It's not in the interest of any society to increase the number of homosexuals — that's obvious.”
Poland's President Lech Kaczynski and Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the “terrible twins” as they are known to many, have a long anti-gay history despite the fact that Jaroslaw may apparently be gay. Lech Kaczynski was condemned by rights groups in February for his statement that gays would destroy the human race.
Poland urged to halt ‘homophobia' [bbc]
Kaczynski rejecte EU criticism of his homophobic comments [iht]
