Gay Couple Slammed by Polish President Visits Warsaw

A gay New York couple whose wedding images were used by the Polish president in a national speech to warn against same-sex marriage said Monday they came to Warsaw, Poland, hoping to start a dialogue on tolerance. A brief video clip of Brendan Fay's wedding with his partner, Tom Moulton, was woven into President Lech Kaczynski's March 19 televised address.

A brief video clip of Brendan Fay's wedding with his partner, Tom Moulton, was woven into President Lech Kaczynski's March 19 televised address.

The video, along with a photo of the couple's marriage certificate, was shown as the president warned against the dangers of adopting the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights, which Kaczynski says could open the door to same-sex marriage in Poland.

''We come here in the hopes of opening a dialogue between a community which may not have had much voice, and that this dialogue will make Poland an even better place,'' Moulton said after meeting with a left-wing opposition lawmaker in Poland's parliament.

Fay, a documentary filmmaker and gay rights activist who was born in Ireland but now lives in New York, and Moulton, a pediatric oncologist, said they prepared a letter for Kaczynski with a request for a meeting.

''Perhaps he'd like to meet the couple whose images he used, and we could sit down and begin this important dialogue,'' said Fay, who held Moulton's hand throughout the news conference.

Kaczynski's office said last week the president was unlikely to meet with the couple.

After learning of the president's speech, Fay and Moulton submitted an informal complaint to the Polish consulate in New York.

On Monday, Fay said ''the misuse of the images from such a day of joy, that they were used in a way to promote fear and intolerance gave us cause for anger and frustration.''

There is little support for same-sex marriage in Poland, a deeply Roman Catholic country that joined the EU in 2004. The Polish constitution states that marriage is only between a man and a woman. (Ryan Lucas, AP)

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