Copenhagen mayor lends support to gay Lithuanians

Following a request from gay rights activists, Copenhagen Mayor Frank Jensen urges Vilnius Mayor Arutras Zuokas to support Baltic Pride parade.


Copenhagen Mayor Frank Jensen pointed to the success of the annual Copenhagen Pride parade, which attracts thousands of LGBT supporters each year
(Photo: Scanpix)
Copenhagen's mayor, Frank Jensen (Socialdemokraterne) showed his support for international gay rights last week in Vilnius, Lithuania.

After the advocacy organisation Association Lithuanian Gay League (LGL) asked Jensen to advocate for the 2013 Baltic Pride Parade, Jensen wrote an open letter to Arturas Zuokas, the mayor of the Lithuanian capital, requesting his support for the event.
As LGL explained, the municipality had granted permission for the parade to proceed but denied participants from marching through downtown Vilnius, citing “security concerns.”

In his letter, Jensen urged Zuokas to allow the parade access to central Vilnius in order to increase public visibility and awareness of the event. Jensen pointed to Copenhagen’s own Pride Parade as an integral part of gay rights efforts.

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