The defeat of "Atlas of Hate" and the victory of truth

Ordo Iuris

The European Commission has been conducting a special "infringement procedure" against Poland since July 2021. EU officials claimed that Poland was discriminating against people with homosexual tendencies and experiencing "gender identity" disorders. Evidence of this discrimination was to be found in alleged "LGBT-free zones." This is an obvious lie by the LGBT activists themselves, who, by the way, openly boasted on social media that thanks to them the Commission is screening Poland. Fortunately, their triumph was only temporary - at the end of January, the European Commission closed its investigation into the alleged "LGBT-free zones."

This is how fake news is made

When many Polish local governments reacted with opposition to Rafał Trzaskowski's radical gender agenda "LGBT+ Declaration," no one could have predicted that the ideologues would go so far as to launch such damaging attacks on small municipalities or districts. The outrageous lies began with happenings by LGBT activist Bart Staszewski, who prepared yellow signs reading "LGBT-free zone" - translated into English, French and Russian. He then drove around towns that had passed pro-family resolutions and affixed his signs under city name boards. He published photos and short videos of these actions online. Soon the photos reached far beyond the country's borders. Many Europeans truly believed that Polish towns and cities posted such signs on their borders.

Other LGBT activists created an "Atlas of Hate" - an interactive map of Poland on which they marked in red all municipalities, districts and provinces that had passed pro-family resolutions, declaring them places where people who identify with the LGBT movement are not tolerated. Among them were also local governments that adopted the Local Government Charter on the Rights of Families - despite the fact that the resolution, prepared by Ordo Iuris lawyers, does not even mention the LGBT movement in a word.

Despite our efforts, successive Polish courts ruled that placing a local government in the "Atlas of Hate" did not violate its good name. Brussels officials also threatened pro-family local governments with the loss of EU money. The situation was becoming increasingly difficult....

European Commission closes infringement procedure against Poland

The European Commission's decision surprised confident LGBT activists and radical media. "Did the Commission believe that there is no problem of discrimination in Poland?" - asks the Oko Press website bitterly, citing the opinion of an activist from the Campaign Against Homophobia and one of the authors of the slanderous "Atlas of Hate."

The closure of the EU procedure is undoubtedly a great victory for pro-family local government officials and lawyers of the Ordo Iuris Institute, who immediately after its initiation provided the Polish government with a legal analysis containing substantive answers to all the questions posed by EU officials. As Oko Press and Gazeta Wyborcza columnists admit, the government in its correspondence with the European Commission "duplicated the line of defense used by local governments and Ordo Iuris, which represents them before the courts."

Let's hold the liars accountable

The end of the EC's infringement procedure must be the beginning of a new stage in the fight for the good name of the slandered local governments and the good pro-family policy of Polish municipalities, districts and provinces. We will be reminded of the European Commission's decision in the courts, where five proceedings are still pending in the lawsuits of the authors of the "Atlas of Hate," whom we sued on behalf of local governments adopting the Local Government Charter on the Rights of Families, prepared by Ordo Iuris lawyers.

Lawyers of Ordo Iuris sued left-wing activists in seven lawsuits, in which - on behalf of the authorities of pro-family local governments - we demand that the authors of the "Atlas of Hate" apologize, in particular read out in front of the European Parliament building, and pay reparations to social causes.

Today only five of the seven proceedings are pending, as the authorities of two local governments have given up the fight for their good name. Unfortunately, this is largely the result of financial blackmail, threats and a wave of slander by radical activists. That's why we cannot stop fighting for the good name of these local governments, which, despite the enormous reprisal, are still not afraid to stand on the position that the family is a value that public authorities should support. In one of the proceedings that is still ongoing, the last appeal hearing has already taken place, and the verdict is expected to be announced on March 7.

Our lawsuits have already had a very concrete communication effect - the main page of the slanderous "Atlas of Hate" today shows information about the three ongoing trials. As a result, anyone who enters this lying site will immediately know that they are dealing with information of - euphemistically speaking - questionable reliability.

The Union believes the lies of the radicals

We also continue to fight the myth of "LGBT-free zones" on the international stage. We intervene every time this fake news returns in the international debate. And it repeats itself, unfortunately, on a regular basis. Many have come to believe in the veracity of the fake "LGBT-free zone" road signs. As a result, there are still people in Europe who are sanctimoniously convinced that there are villages and towns in Poland where people with homosexual tendencies and experiencing "gender identity" disorders are not allowed to enter. Such lies have been repeated many times in the European Parliament - and not only in speeches by MEPs.

We were able to read about the existence of alleged "LGBT-free zones" in two European Parliament resolutions. We challenged both of them to the Court of Justice, which thus had the opportunity to confirm what we have been reminding you of for years - resolutions of the European Parliament have no legal force whatsoever and are merely political declarations by MEPs. In the case of the second resolution, the Court originally tried to overrule the case on formal grounds, but after our appeal, the Second Chamber of the CJEU agreed with the Ordo Iuris lawyers and remanded the case for a new decision.

One thing is certain - lies about Poland do not go without a legal response.

Adv. Rafał Dorosiński - member of the Board of Ordo Iuris