Celebrating Pride Across the Globe
In Tel Aviv:
Thousands take part in Tel Aviv pride parade
Organizers say Friday parade biggest in city’s history. Gay religious men among the marchers
Thousands of people took part in the Tel Aviv gay pride parade on Friday, held under heavy security. Several main roads in the city were blocked for traffic.
..
Friday’s parade was the biggest in Tel Aviv’s history, the mayor’s advisor on gay community affairs Yaniv Weizman said. He added that more than 100,000 people attended the march.
MK Nitzan Horowitz, who hosted a special committee for gay rights at the Knesset this week, said: “The MKs and rabbis who called the debate an abomination are abominable themselves and anyone who talks about diseases is sick himself.”
Meanwhile, in Rome…
Hundreds of thousands march for Pride in Rome, await Lady Gaga
ROME (AFP) – Hundreds of thousands of people paraded through central Rome in a gay pride parade on Saturday, with many criticising Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s government for failing to grant same-sex rights.
…
Italy is one of the few European states that lacks specific legislation against homophobic violence and has no provision for gay civil unions.Berlusconi last year dismissed a sex scandal with a homophobic comment saying: “It’s better to be passionate about beautiful women than to be gay.”
Organisers estimated crowd numbers at around 400,000 people. Police estimates ranged between 300,000 and 500,000 ahead of the event.