While we witness a rise in homophobia in France and the climate moves towards a certain form of intolerance, the LGBT center (lesbians, gays, bi, and trans) of the Côte d’Azur and its 18 associations are calling for a large gathering this Friday, April 12 starting at 6:30 pm, at Place du Pin.
Pressures, threats, vandalism, assaults, incitement to violence… Since the beginning of the parliamentary debate on MARRIAGE FOR ALL, homophobia has become unabashed, liberated!
More than ever, the LGBT population is worried because from words to actions, there is only one step that could be easily taken as evidenced by the acts of the past few days:
– Wednesday, April 3, visuals from GUD promote physical violence against LGBT people (lesbians, gays, bi, and trans).
– Thursday, Senator Chantal Jouanno and her family were harassed at the senator’s residence.
– Friday, a debate in which Deputy Erwann Binet was to participate is canceled due to direct threats to his security.
– Saturday, Senator Esther Benbassa’s vehicle is vandalized.
– Saturday, a gay couple is physically and violently assaulted on the streets of Paris.
– Sunday, the Angles of the Blancs-Manteaux in Paris, where the Spring of Associations organized by Inter-LGBT is held, is vandalized, covered with posters from the collective “Manif pour tous”.
– Monday, a debate in which Deputy Erwann Binet was again supposed to participate is canceled because security could not be guaranteed!
And this is just a list of publicized events. How many anonymous victims could have been the target of homophobic violence throughout this week? Certainly too many!
As evidence, more than 60 testimonies received by SOS Homophobia this past week alone, which suggests a much larger number of homophobic acts.
Whether one is for or against marriage open to same-sex people, homophobia should never be condoned! It is your friends, your parents, your sisters, and your brothers who are today the target of hatred!
