I think Jason Kenney needs to immediately suspend this person from the UCP party and denounce this kind of homophobic hatred." UCP is 'big-tent party': KenneyĬhristine Myatt, a spokesperson for UCP leader Jason Kenney, provided the following emailed statement in response to Carpay's comments: "The true motivations are crystal-clear now of the kind of hate and homophobia behind this kind of opposition. "I thought the comments were absolutely offensive and require immediate action," said Kristopher Wells, an LGBTQ advocate and associate professor at MacEwan University in Edmonton who specializes in sexual and gender minority youth. In arguments before the court, he alleged that gay-straight alliances - peer-support groups that are meant to tackle bullying and provide supportive environments for LGBTQ students - are "ideological sexual clubs." Other speakers at the event included Conservative Saskatoon MP Brad Trost and People's Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier.Ĭarpay is the lawyer behind a lawsuit challenging Alberta's Bill 24.Īlberta judge dismisses bid to place gay-straight alliance law on hold
He later apologized in an emailed statement for "unintentionally" drawing the comparison.Ĭarpay's statement is posted in full at the bottom of this article. It doesn't matter what the external symbol might be for an ideology, what matters is our fundamental freedoms being attacked and what are we doing to defend them."Ĭarpay said examples of freedoms being under attack include anti-LGBT protestors being removed from college campuses and Alberta government Bill 24, which protects students from being outed by teachers if they join a gay-straight alliance. "I'm saying that totalitarianism has common characteristics and then I'm saying it doesn't matter what external symbol is being used when freedoms are under attack," Carpay said. #cdnpoli /jMdezFWUBs- told CBC News in a phone interview that the 30-second clip gives an incorrect impression that he's "equating different belief systems" and doesn't do justice to his 20-minute presentation, which focused on the "nature of totalitarianism."
In case you were wondering if they were bigots. this is why it is important that the local (Budapest) councils are supporting our cause," he said.Speaking at #TheRebelLive, John Carpay of just compared the rainbow flag to a swastika, and said that protecting LGBTQ rights is totalitarianism. "For an incident like this you only need a few people, this doesn't mean that the majority of society are behind them. Tamas Dombos, a board member of the Hungarian LGBT Alliance, expressed concern about far-right groups working together. "Those forces who fight against the biological dead end of homosexuality should team up internationally," Novak told Reuters, saying his group was watching developments in Poland. In Poland, where homophobia has been part of the ruling PiS party's ideology and election strategy, nationalists and defenders of LGBT rights faced off against each other in Warsaw on Sunday. Rights groups say hostility to LGBT+ people has increased since nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban won a third term in 2018.Īccording to ILGA, an international lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex advocacy group, Hungary slipped the most in Europe in terms of rights in 2019, although it is still ahead of nearly all eastern European countries.
The comments were echoed in a statement by a group of embassies from around the world to mark 25th anniversary of Budapest Pride - being marked by a series of events and displays throughout the city this month as the traditional solidarity march was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.Ī government spokesman said authorities were doing their job as Hungary is a state where laws were respected. Neo-Nazi or other hate groups should not be tolerated in any society," it said. "Freedom of expression is a fundamental right that should be able to be exercised without intimidation. The embassy said it was "deeply concerned" about the incidents. On Friday, a hardline soccer fan was detained by police on suspicion of tearing down a flag and burning it.Īnd on Sunday, Elod Novak, vice president of the far-right fringe "Our Homeland Movement" removed the rainbow flag installed to mark Pride celebrations from the Budapest city hall, and threw it into a rubbish bin. BUDAPEST: The US Embassy in Budapest warned on Monday (Aug 17) that neo-Nazi groups should not be tolerated after two rainbow flags were torn down from municipals buildings in the latest anti-LGBT incidents in Hungary.