'We have the power': Poles march for LGBTQ+ rights in Gdansk

Thousands marched in support of homophobia as thousands marched through Gdansk, a northern port city, to protest the seventh annual Equality March. The march was held under the slogan "We Have the Power".

The marchers waved the rainbow flags of LGBTQ+ and the blue, white, and transgender flags. They made their way through the city waving placards that read "We make love, not war" as well as slogans such "Jesus would come with us".

A police spokesperson said that approximately 7,500 people participated in the event.

Sabina Joeck, 24, said that it is very difficult in Poland to be queer.

Gay rights are a very divisive issue in predominantly Catholic Poland. The country's ruling nationalists have made fighting what they call LGBTQ+ "ideology", a key part of their election campaigns in recent years.

While religious conservatives oppose the ideology that threatens the traditional family, liberal Poles believe such ideologies lead to widespread discrimination.

A few protestors opposed to the march held Catholic rosary beads, and a banner claiming that the LGBTQ+ "lobby” sought to sexualize children.

Margaret, a protester, said that she was not against homosexuals and that these people are normal people. "But they shouldn't get to our children," she said.

Human rights groups refute the accusations that schools teach about LGBTQ+ issues to sexualize children.

Nikodem Mrozek (a 40-year-old mathematician) believes attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people in Poland have improved, but that some politicians still view the community as a threat.

He said that "Society is improving and people are becoming more sane," but that the political situation was getting worse.

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