Thousands join 'Together Against Hate' LGBTQ+ march

A rally commemorating the victims of a homophobic murder in Bratislava earlier this month brought thousands of people to Prague's Wenceslas Square yesterday, ČTK reports.

With a motto of "Together Against Hate" (“Společně proti nenávisti”), the rally also called for stemming anti-LGBTQ+ prejudices, and for the adoption of a bill allowing same-sex couples to legally marry in the Czech Republic.

Some of the people in attendance included musicians, singers, actors and high-profile public figures, such as State Nuclear Safety Office chairwoman Dana Drabova, senator Miloš Vystrčil, and outgoing Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib.

Speaking at the rally, Czeslav Walek from the “We Are Fair” group, mentioned a recent appeal that 23 organizations addressed to the Czech cabinet and parliament for legislation protecting LGBTQ+ people, which so far gained 17,000 signatures.

Interior Minister Vít Rakušan also tweeted in favor of LGBTQ+ marriage: "We belong to the West! In the West, it is quite common that marriage can be concluded not only by a man and a woman, but also by two women or two men." Rakušan added that a bill supporting marriage for all, drafted by his fellow Mayors and Independents party member Josef Bernard, has already been delivered to the Chamber of Deputies. "I can see no reason for us not to pass it immediately," he also said.

A man carrying a banner reading “Fear the God and pay honor to him,” and using a loudspeaker to quote from the Bible, interrupted the rally before being apprehended by police present on site.

The funerals of the two victims of the shooting at the LGBTQ+ café and bar took place yesterday in Bratislava and Zilina, central Slovakia.