Participants are already marching from St. Michael the Archangel Church through Laisvės Avenue. After crossing it, they will turn back to the Cathedral, where community representatives will give speeches.
This year, the organizers are raising demands regarding the representation of LGBTQIA+ people in the Lithuanian education system, legal recognition and protection of families, and inclusive healthcare services.
They emphasize that this community is alive not only in Vilnius, so LGBTQIA+ rights must also be ensured in other cities.
“Both in Kaunas and in the regions, they also demand adequate queer and LGBTQ+ representation in education, their legal recognition, and visibility, as well as appropriate laws. It is also very important that not only in Vilnius appropriate medical services are available for transgender people,” said Beata Starodubova, the press representative of “Kaunas Pride,” to BNS before the march.
“We protest against transphobia, against homophobia,” she added.
According to community representatives, fewer people are expected to participate in the protest than last year, when about 3,000 participants gathered at the march. The permit was issued for an event of up to 5,000 participants.
“A protest is a protest, not just a march or a celebration. We think there will be fewer people because this protest has a political mission,” said B. Starodubova.
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According to the organizers, LGBTQIA+ rights are also related to the rights of other marginalized groups, so the march aims to draw attention to manifestations of hatred and discrimination in society.
According to B. Starodubova, the march also expresses support for Palestine.
According to the organizers, LGBTQIA+ persons’ rights are still not consistently regulated, schools still avoid talking about science-based sexual education, and same-sex families cannot fully live family life.
Among the demands is to implement the Constitutional Court’s April 17 ruling and ensure LGBTQIA+ people’s right to family life, as well as to create equal opportunities to use marriage, partnership, and adoption rights.
The organizers also call for simplifying the possibilities for transgender people to change their name and gender marker, strengthening their protection against discrimination and hate crimes, and ensuring accessible and non-discriminatory healthcare services.
Odeta Vaitkevičienė, a representative of the Kaunas County Police, told BNS that the police plan to deploy more forces than usual during the march, but officers currently have no information about possible provocations and hope the event will proceed smoothly.
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The “Kaunas Pride” march is held in Kaunas for the second time. The first took place in 2021.
