A 'minority' of homophobic and prejudiced people are becoming 'more vocal', showing the importance of Pride month, according to Leo Varadkar.
This year’s Dublin Pride Parade takes place on Saturday, marking 50 years since the formation of Ireland’s first gay rights group, the Sexual Liberation Movement.
Deputy Varadkar – who made history himself as Ireland’s first openly gay Taoiseach – said Pride is “two things”.
“It's a celebration of the LGBT community and all of our allies and a celebration of a world that is increasingly diverse,” he told The Hard Shoulder.
“It is also a protest – we shouldn’t forget that New York Pride happens on the same weekend [and] commemorates the Stonewall riots, when gay and queer people fought back against police brutality.”
The former Taoiseach said people should also use Pride to remember Declan Flynn, a gay man who was beaten to death in Fairview Park, Co Dublin, in September 1982.
Deputy Varadkar noted the four men and teenage boy who were found guilty of his death were given suspended sentences.
“Certain parallels with some recent events in our courts and all of that reminds us why Pride is still important,” he said.
“While we've made enormous strides in Ireland and around the world in terms of LGBT equality, we’re not there yet in Ireland or around the world.”
He said while there have not been official statistics published, he has heard from many people that hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people are “on the rise”.
“[There is] a growing acceptance of rhetoric and language that is othering of the gay community,” he said. “Particularly targeting trans people who are the soft target."
Mr Varadkar said transgender people are a “small minority” in Ireland and are not a “threat” - but they are treated as a “threat to morality, children, society” by some.
'Setbacks' in LGBTQ+ Pride
Deputy Varadkar said a minority of people are getting "more vocal” about their prejudice - giving other people “permission to come out of the woodworks”.
“I’m an optimist – the arc of history bends towards progress but it’s not a straight road and there’s always setbacks.
“Now that I’ve got more time on my hands, I’m getting involved in some of these issues and you see it going backwards and forwards.”
Last week, Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to allow same-sex marriage, while in Namibia, a high court ruled the criminalisation of homosexuality as unconstitutional.
Deputy Varadkar noted, however, that Uganda and Ghana were ‘going backwards’ - and next week’s UK general election marks a turning point for the nation’s future in the ‘liberal mainstream’.
Wicklow Pride also postponed its Rainbow Disco in Newtownmountkennedy after receiving threats of protest.
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