Preparing for Europride

National LGBT meeting

Preparing for Europride

The Socialist Party LGBT caucus met on the 25th anniversary of the
discovery of AIDS. Members from around England and Wales, almost half of
them youth or students, met to discuss Marxism, religion and LGBT rights
and priorities for campaigning over the summer.

Tom Penman Leicester

Lynn Walsh introduced the first discussion on the resurgence of
religious ideas and described how the ruling class uses religion, both
as a way of dividing the working class and as a way of justifying their
own actions.

For example, the US government has used religious language and ideas
to justify its actions in the Middle East, at one point George W. Bush
even described it as a ‘crusade’.

As socialists we support the democratic right of people to follow and
practise any religion (as long as it does not harm the rights of
others), or none at all, and the right to criticise religion. However,
we also support the complete separation of church and state.

Marc Vallee introduced the organisational session and began with a
brief overview of our party’s proud history on LGBT rights – how we had
intervened into Pride marches in the past and how the plans for
Europride were shaping up.

During the discussion members raised points about issues they thought
needed dealing with, including continuing the youth campaign against
homophobic bullying and opposing the commercialisation of Pride events.

BA are sponsoring Europride and have stated that LGBT people are an
‘affluent group’, adding to the stereotype that all LGBT people are
wealthy and middle class – apparently working-class LGBT people don’t
exist! After the discussion, the LGBT caucus steering group was elected.