Western European MP's arrested at Russian gay rights protest

[afleitch]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6695913.stm

Anti-homosexual protesters threw kicks, punches and eggs at the gay rights group, chanting "Moscow is not Sodom". The gay rights demonstrators were trying to deliver a petition to the mayor of Moscow, demanding the right to stage public marches.

MPs from Germany and Italy were reportedly among those arrested.

Veteran British gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell was arrested, along with the leader of GayRussia, Nikolai Alexeyev. Mr Tatchell was punched in the face before being detained.

Italian MEP Marco Capatto was kicked by an anti-gay rights protester and then arrested when he demanded police protection.

[Tender Branson]

Not just arrested. Last year the German MP Volker Beck of the Greens took part in the demos and got beaten up by the counter-demo-mix of Neonazis, Ultra-Nationalists, Police Forces and militant orthodox christian fundies.

Sadly not just Russia has a long way to go until homosexuals receive equal rights and are not discriminated against, but also most of the Eastern European States, especially Poland and the Baltics.

As for Austria, the public is becoming more liberal for same-sex-marriage and adoption by gay couples than some of the ÖVP (conservative) politicians are. While the Center Left Social Democrats, the Greens and the liberal wing of the ÖVP are for gay marriage in Austria, the conservative part of the ÖVP, the FPÖ and BZÖ are against it. And as long as the ÖVP doesnt find a common party line in favor of legalizing same-sex-marriage or an SPÖ-Green coalition is formed, there´s hardly any political movement here, despite the fact that Austrians favor gay-marriage by 55-45 and is among the leading European nations when it comes to tolerate gay adoptions.

The fact that Austrians are becoming more and more liberal with the issue of gay-marriage is seen best when the poll is broken down by age:

While younger Austrian people support gay marriage by 68% to 29% (incl. me), older people are against it by 27-62. There´s also a gender gap: Women are for it 51-42 and men just slightly for it 48-46.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Not just arrested. Last year the German MP Volker Beck of the Greens took part in the demos and got beaten up by the counter-demo-mix of Neonazis, Ultra-Nationalists, Police Forces and militant orthodox christian fundies.

Basically the same thing happened to Beck again yesterday...