Latvia’s foreign minister, Edgars Rinkēvičs, publicly revealed that he is gay in a tweet on Thursday:
Latvia’s foreign minister just came out on Twitter: “I proudly announce I’m gay”
Zack Beauchamp is a senior correspondent at Vox, where he covers ideology and challenges to democracy, both at home and abroad. His book on democracy, The Reactionary Spirit, was published 0n July 16. You can purchase it here.
I proudly announce I'am gay... Good luck all of you...
— Edgars Rinkēvičs (@edgarsrinkevics) November 6, 2014 It’s real, in case you were wondering: Latvian language site Apollo reported that Rinkēvičs confirmed his account wasn’t compromised. Multiple international outlets have also reported the news.
This is significant. According to Marriage Equality USA, Latvia is one of a handful of EU countries with a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. In October, its parliament advanced a bill banning sex ed curricula from teaching that same-sex marriages are equal to opposite-sex marriages, and there are plans for a Russia-style bill banning “gay propaganda” in the works. So a top official like this coming out like this is a major political statement.
Meanwhile, in Latvia's eastern neighbor Russia, mobs with tacit government sanction assault gay citizens at will.
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