News
2005-07-30
Poll: Poland
growing more tolerant of gays
Tolerance of gay
men and lesbians has grown in Poland, a
predominantly Roman Catholic nation, amid increasing media
coverage
Tolerance of gay
men and lesbians has grown in Poland, a
predominantly Roman Catholic nation, amid increasing media
coverage and public debate concerning a once-taboo
subject, a new survey suggested Friday. Some 46% of
Poles believe gay couples should have the right to
civil unions, with the same legal and financial benefits as
married couples, up from 34% in April 2003, according
to a poll by the CBOS agency. "Different political
groupings, particularly on the left and center, [have]
put forward the idea that such a civil union should be
part of the law," said Michal Wenzel, a CBOS researcher.
"Apparently the public has increasingly been accepting of
such a legal solution as a result of this publicity."
Still, 72% of Poles oppose legalizing
traditional marriage for gays and lesbians, which
includes the right to adopt children. "Equating
homosexual and heterosexual unions is still opposed by a
decisive—and not diminishing—majority of
Poles," the study said. The poll, which surveyed 1,021
people July 1-4, has a margin of error of plus or minus
three percentage points.
Homosexuality was a taboo subject under
Communist rule, and the Roman Catholic Church,
strengthened by the influence of late Polish-born pope
John Paul II, also disapproves of gays and lesbians. In
early June more than 2,000 people participated in a
gay rights parade in Warsaw, defying a ban by the
city's conservative mayor and sparking an anti-gay rights
parade a week later.
Poland's entry into the European Union last year
might have had an "indirect influence" on the apparent
increase in tolerance for gays and lesbians, Wenzel
added. Earlier this year Spain legalized same-sex
marriage, following the Netherlands and Belgium. (AP)
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