Initiator of gay parade in Sumy doused with holy water

Olga Panfilova came out with a picket to support the Kiev gay parade, "I understand that the March of Equality is unlikely to happen in Sumy, I just wanted to openly declare my position and invited my friends to join me," says Olga. "I feel bitter about the fact that people with homosexual orientation are treated most negatively in our city, they would be willingly sent to some ghetto.

The poster "Country for All" in Olga's hands, flowers for passers-by as a sign of respecting diversity looked more like a single picket. This action caused a wave of negativity from passers-by – people refused to accept flowers.

A few minutes later, a crowd of young people surrounded the girl – representatives of right-wing radical parties and public organizations. An old woman began to douse the picketer with holy water, a scuffle began. Things escalated so much that Olga, surrounded by policemen, had to be taken to a safe place and put in a car there.

Earlier, on June 18, about a thousand citizens, in particular, believers of Christian churches, representatives of public organizations, took part in a large-scale pro-family march.

"Unfortunately, our action coincided with the March of Equality in Kiev," said Vitali Orlov, a representative of the organizing committee of the action "For Family and Life". "We speak out, first and foremost, "for", not "against". We are for family values, for strong families, for ensuring that the institution of a traditional family is reliably protected in the legal field. At the same time, we will work together, in a peaceful way, to counteract the threat posed to Ukrainian society by LGBT propaganda."

Within the framework of the action, a joint march, a prayerful meeting, a concert, a flash mob and various entertainments took place.

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