"Sexual or other orientation" - Part 1
This "masterpiece" of local self-government was the cause of the latest homophobia-related scandal in Bulgaria:
MUNICIPAL COUNCIL - PAZARDZHIK
REGULATION on the public order in Pazardzhik Municipality
November 2009
Art. 14. The demonstration and expression of sexual or other orientation in public places is prohibited.
(full original text here)
Don't ask me what "other orientation" means. No one has provided a meaningful explanation so far. The municipal councillor who proposed the article - Mr Blago Petrov (one of those "nationalist" types), and the Chairman - Mr. Georgi Yordanov, are obviously unaware that heterosexuality is also a sexual orientation (yes, some people are this ignorant). What became clear is that the purpose of the article was to prevent a pride parade from happening in the town of Pazardzhik, just in case it occurred to anybody to organize it.
Then Radoslav Stoyanov and Dobromir Dobrev filed a complaint to the Commission for Protection Against Discrimination. There was some TV discussion I can't lay my hands on. Then the Youth Organization "LGBT Action" started protesting too. Then all hell broke loose. I don't know how to summarize the whole "saga".
There were news titles like Forbidden Love - the first sentence was "The gay caresses in the open are forbidden in Pazardzhik now" (Bulgarian original), and suchlike. The Chairman of the Municipal Council, Mr. Georgi Yordanov, said on a local radio, “We don’t think that we prohibit the expression of whatever sexual orientation of our fellow citizens [of Pazardzhik] and we don’t mind if that happens in closed spaces and specialized clubs. We don’t want it to happen in public places because we think that the rights of a larger part of our fellow citizens are violated in that way. The expression of sexual orientation is also pedophilia, and exhibitionism, so we entirely support the regulation that was passed.” (full Bulgarian text)
The saga made it to one of the national TV stations, bTV. (Ugh, the webpage with the news report video has obviously expired, and I can't find it elsewhere). Then there was this dispute in the "let them talk" show, also on bTV (of course it's all in Bulgarian):
So, the young guy on the left is Marko Markov, a representative of the LGBT Action, and next to him is Georgi Yordanov, the Chairman of the Municipal Council of Pazardzhik. The host Rosen Petrov is in the middle. The three persons on his other side are: (from your left to your right); Andrey Raychev (a sociologist), Andrey Slabakov (a director) and Ernestina Shinova (an actress).
Here is the translation of some chosen "gems" in the second video for you (no need to repeat the Chairman’s position again):
Mr Slabakov, “Such regulations should appear everywhere because I want to know what are we gonna do if those who like cattle go out on a demonstration too.”
"Going against nature for me is abnormal."
Ms Shinova (after making the disclaimer that her best girlfriend’s name was Mauricio), “Love is something very personal, and there is no need that it should be demonstrated, there is no need for you to provoke anybody or anything with pink panty hose and feathers on the behind”.
“Why everybody in Bulgaria has rights: the lesbians have rights, the fags have rights, the prisoners have rights, the Turks have rights, everybody, and the normal people don’t have them?”
She also hinted far from subtly about... let's say it politely because I don't want to repeat her vulgar language, the gays wanting to have sex in public on their "demonstrations".
Mr Raychev (the only person in the studio besides the LGBT activist who seemed to understand the whole thing properly - even the host, who was otherwise professional enough, said that sexual orientation was a choice) called their behaviour "outrage" and "fascism", said "This is not going against nature; mature makes them this way", chided the Chairman and his colleagues for calling the gays" abnormal", explicitly or implicitly. The only effect on his opponents was that they got even angrier.
The LGBT activist himself wasn't left to say much because his opponents kept interrupting him, but he endured it all stoically enough.
Sorry that I don't have the time, energy and patience to translate it all for those of you who are interested, but I hope at least I managed to give you the general idea.
Note for the American readers: God and the Bible weren't mentioned anywhere in the video.
MUNICIPAL COUNCIL - PAZARDZHIK
REGULATION on the public order in Pazardzhik Municipality
November 2009
Art. 14. The demonstration and expression of sexual or other orientation in public places is prohibited.
(full original text here)
Don't ask me what "other orientation" means. No one has provided a meaningful explanation so far. The municipal councillor who proposed the article - Mr Blago Petrov (one of those "nationalist" types), and the Chairman - Mr. Georgi Yordanov, are obviously unaware that heterosexuality is also a sexual orientation (yes, some people are this ignorant). What became clear is that the purpose of the article was to prevent a pride parade from happening in the town of Pazardzhik, just in case it occurred to anybody to organize it.
Then Radoslav Stoyanov and Dobromir Dobrev filed a complaint to the Commission for Protection Against Discrimination. There was some TV discussion I can't lay my hands on. Then the Youth Organization "LGBT Action" started protesting too. Then all hell broke loose. I don't know how to summarize the whole "saga".
There were news titles like Forbidden Love - the first sentence was "The gay caresses in the open are forbidden in Pazardzhik now" (Bulgarian original), and suchlike. The Chairman of the Municipal Council, Mr. Georgi Yordanov, said on a local radio, “We don’t think that we prohibit the expression of whatever sexual orientation of our fellow citizens [of Pazardzhik] and we don’t mind if that happens in closed spaces and specialized clubs. We don’t want it to happen in public places because we think that the rights of a larger part of our fellow citizens are violated in that way. The expression of sexual orientation is also pedophilia, and exhibitionism, so we entirely support the regulation that was passed.” (full Bulgarian text)
The saga made it to one of the national TV stations, bTV. (Ugh, the webpage with the news report video has obviously expired, and I can't find it elsewhere). Then there was this dispute in the "let them talk" show, also on bTV (of course it's all in Bulgarian):
Click to viewSo, the young guy on the left is Marko Markov, a representative of the LGBT Action, and next to him is Georgi Yordanov, the Chairman of the Municipal Council of Pazardzhik. The host Rosen Petrov is in the middle. The three persons on his other side are: (from your left to your right); Andrey Raychev (a sociologist), Andrey Slabakov (a director) and Ernestina Shinova (an actress).
Here is the translation of some chosen "gems" in the second video for you (no need to repeat the Chairman’s position again):
Mr Slabakov, “Such regulations should appear everywhere because I want to know what are we gonna do if those who like cattle go out on a demonstration too.”
"Going against nature for me is abnormal."
Ms Shinova (after making the disclaimer that her best girlfriend’s name was Mauricio), “Love is something very personal, and there is no need that it should be demonstrated, there is no need for you to provoke anybody or anything with pink panty hose and feathers on the behind”.
“Why everybody in Bulgaria has rights: the lesbians have rights, the fags have rights, the prisoners have rights, the Turks have rights, everybody, and the normal people don’t have them?”
She also hinted far from subtly about... let's say it politely because I don't want to repeat her vulgar language, the gays wanting to have sex in public on their "demonstrations".
Mr Raychev (the only person in the studio besides the LGBT activist who seemed to understand the whole thing properly - even the host, who was otherwise professional enough, said that sexual orientation was a choice) called their behaviour "outrage" and "fascism", said "This is not going against nature; mature makes them this way", chided the Chairman and his colleagues for calling the gays" abnormal", explicitly or implicitly. The only effect on his opponents was that they got even angrier.
The LGBT activist himself wasn't left to say much because his opponents kept interrupting him, but he endured it all stoically enough.
Sorry that I don't have the time, energy and patience to translate it all for those of you who are interested, but I hope at least I managed to give you the general idea.
Note for the American readers: God and the Bible weren't mentioned anywhere in the video.