Cardinal Wants Gays Banned From Public Office
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

Posted: December 11, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET

(Riga) The leader of Latvia's Roman Catholics has called on political parties to ban gays from seeking public office.

As the country prepares to go to the polls to elect a new Parliament Cardinal Janis Pujats issued a letter demanding the three major parties pledge not to endorse the candidacy of anyone who is gay and not to appoint anyone gay to  non-elected office.

The letter tells party leaders they must be "ready to defend the Latvian nation against the invasion of homosexuality in public life," the Baltic News Service reported on Tuesday.

Pujats later said that European laws barring discrimination against gays "irrelevant" if they run counter to the morals of Latvia.

"As a cardinal, I say this in the name of Latvia's half-million Catholic believers. They are citizens of their country and have rights to express their opinions on all issues of national importance, he said.

All three candidates for Prime Minister have distanced themselves from Pujats' remarks.

In June Latvian gays marched in Riga under the watchful eyes of police who last year were accused of doing nothing while gays were attacked by extremists.

Even so, the parade was held in a park that had been fenced in to prevent a repeat of last year's counter protest.

Outside the perimeter almost 100 people staged a noisy demonstration against LGBT civil rights. Later in the day the anti-gay groups - Catholics, skinheads, extreme nationalists, and neo-Nazis - held a concert billed as pro-family.

Last year the capital city of Riga refused to grant a parade permit citing security reasons following a recommendation from Latvian Interior Minister Dzintars Jaundzeikars. (story)

Pride organizers organized a service at a local church instead of holding a parade. As they left the church dozens were attacked by an angry mob.

They were pelted with bags of excrement and verbal abuse as police stood by watching.

The issue of LGBT civil rights also led to a showdown between then President Vaira Vike-Freiberga and Parliament last year.

A labor law passed in 2004 as a condition of European Union membership and as required by the EU contained protections for gays was never implemented.  In 2006 Parliament revised it stripped out the LGBT protections and sent it to the president for her signature. (story)

Vike-Freiberga vetoed the measure returning it to Parliament with a terse message that she would sign it only when the protections were restored.

After a heated battle in Parliament the clause was reinstated and the bill was signed into law. 

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