Kaunas hosted second Pride event calling for freedom for LGBTQ+ community and others

VILNIUS – The second Kaunas Pride event took place in Lithuania’s second-largest city on Saturday, bringing together around 500 people to support freedom of self-expression and stand up against hatred and discrimination.

Participants marched from St. Michael the Archangel Church along Laisves Avenue and back, demanding more rights for LGBTQ+ people. They also expressed their support for Palestine and other marginalized groups in society.

The march ended with the reading of the community’s manifesto.

Participants carried LGBTQ+, Palestinian, Ukrainian and European Union flags. Many wore Pride symbols and carried signs calling for equality and greater recognition of LGBTQ+ rights.

A banner at the front of the march read “We were, we are, we will be”, a slogan repeatedly chanted by participants during the entire march. They also chanted slogans calling for solidarity and social justice.

The organizers of this year’s event called for greater representation of LGBTQIA+ people in Lithuania’s education system, legal recognition and protection of same-sex families, and accessible, inclusive health care.

“We are protesting transphobia and homophobia,” Beata Starodubova, spokeswoman for Kaunas Pride, told BNS before the march.

She assumed before the event that the protest was likely to draw fewer people than in 2021, when the march brought together about 3,000 participants.

“A protest is a protest – it’s not just a march or a celebration. We believe there will be fewer people because this protest has a political mission,” Starodubova said.

According to the organizers, the rights of LGBTQIA+ people are also linked to the rights of other marginalized groups, which is why the march aimed to draw attention to manifestations of hatred and discrimination in society.

“Whether we’re talking about workers’ rights, migrants’ rights, or civilians being systematically killed in the Palestinian territories, we are all fighting for life and the right to freely be ourselves,” the Kaunas Pride manifesto reads.

The march was accompanied by a counter-protest staged in downtown Kaunas by people opposing LGBTQ+ ideas and a religious gathering.

About 10 Catholics gathered near the intersection of Laisves Avenue and Vytauto Avenue, where they prayed the Rosary and sang hymns throughout the march.

Meanwhile, 13 people gathered outside Kaunas City Municipality to demonstrate against what they called “LGBT ideology,” holding Lithuanian flags and signs opposing LGBTQ+ issues in schools, and shouting “shame” at marchers.

The march was overseen by a large police presence, and, reportedly, there were some arrests during the event.

The Kaunas Pride march was first held in 2021.