Between closet and rainbow flag - Poland's gays march for their rights

Gay rights are hotly disputed in Poland. But on Saturday, thousands of protestors marched in front of Parliament to demonstrate for gay rights.

Rainbow flags, a few drag queens and lots of next-door-type gays and lesbians: organizers said more than 20,000 supporters of equal rights for sexual minorities flooded the streets of Poland's capital city.

The parade began at Poland's Parliament (Sejm) building and ended in a huge party.

Activists have for years been seeking a partnership law that would recognize same-sex partnerships. "Equal rights - a cause for all" was the parade's motto this year.

Opponents of their cause met them at multiple places along the parade route, carrying anti-gay posters and shouting insults.

Police however kept the two groups separate, thus avoiding clashes.

And the general mood before the "parada rownosci" (equality parade) indicated most participants would avoid outrageous costumes, unlike similar demonstrations in Cologne, San Francisco or Tel Aviv.

They have a good reason: When the march dissolves in the evening and with it, the safety of numbers, hooligans and right wing extremists might wait on the sidelines ready to hunt and beat up gay marchers. So the key is not to stand out in the crowd.

Marek, 35, and Krzysztof, 28, who have been a couple for three years, told dpa before the parade that they, too, would opt for a discreet appearance as well - just a rainbow pin in their t-shirts.

Among friends and neighbors, Marek is openly gay, but he prefers to remain in the closet at the Warsaw bank where he works.

Krzysztof, who grew up in a small town in southern Poland, has only came out to his siblings and mother.

"My dad would freak out if he knew," he said. "And my grandmother would probably die from shock. She is a very devout woman and would be convinced we commit a serious sin."

They spoke to dpa on condition their last names not be used, and did not want to be photographed - not only because of work and family, but also because being out as a gay, lesbian or bisexual is still tricky in many parts of Poland.

"I don't want to spend all my life waiting for change in Poland," Krzysztof said, absent-mindedly shifting his sun glasses. "Here in Warsaw we can have a normal life as a gay couple, provided we keep out of certain neighborhoods. But that's not enough. We finally want the same rights as straight couples."

The recent Irish referendum that approved gay marriage made headlines in Poland. After all, like Poland, Ireland is a predominantly Catholic country.

Can the Irish set a path for the Poles?

Marek laughed bitterly.

"Dream on," he said. "It is still going to be a long way here in Poland."

Indeed - Warsaw's cardinal Kazimierz Nycz called the Irish vote for gay marriage "a warning for Poland and all of Europe."

"We  will not allow that someone pushes the family from its position," Archbishop Wojciech Polak, the primas of the Catholic church in Poland, stressed in a sermon last Sunday.

And a family, according to the bishop, can only mean a man and a woman.

Four years ago former Polish prime minister Donald Tusk promised in his election campaign to provide a partnership law in Poland.

But a first effort in parliament failed after an emotional debate  with harsh diatribes against homosexuals.

This autumn there will be another election, and Tusk's successor Ewa Kopacz has already made clear that her party Civic Platform will not bring in another partnership law until after the elections.

Marek is dissapointed, like many of his friends. "This time, the Platform is no longer getting my vote," he said.

Resistance against gay marriage is not only strong within the church and conservative parties in Poland.

According to a global study by Pew Research Center, the acceptance of gays is lowest in Poland among all EU countries.

Only a few days ago the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) published a report on Poland that raised alarm.

Despite certain progress, growing intolerance against sexual minorities "continue(s) to give cause for concern," ECRI chair Christian Ahlund warned in a statement.

"Homophobic violence is present in schools, while homosexuality is still seen by a large section of the population as a disease," the report said.

It also criticizes that Poland's criminal code does not "explicitly prohibit incitement to violence, hatred and discrimination ... on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity."