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Zürich Pride – Zürich, Switzerland

The Zurich Pride Festival is the biggest LGBT event in Switzerland. The association promotes the LGBT Community in whole Switzerland and represents their the interest and the requests.

Zürich Pride 2014

For a long time Switzerland was one of the most developed countries in case of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender rights (LGBT). It was the one of the first countries that decriminalized homosexuality in 1942. Nevertheless LGBT had to fight for their rights and against discrimination. Zurich City Police for example used to have a register of homosexuals, where they were put in and observed.

Die Zürich Pride ist die grösste LGBT Veranstaltung der Schweiz. Der Verein setzt sich schweizweit für die LGBT Community ein und vertritt deren Interessen und Anliegen nach aussen.

Le Zurich Pride Festival est le plus grande LGBT eveniment en Suisse. l’association s’egage pour la LGBT Community dans toute la Suisse et elle représente l’intérêts e les préoccupations d’elle.

Il Pride Festival di Zuriggo è il piu grande LGBT evenimento della Svizera. L’associazione promuova la LGBT Community nella Svizera e representa i interessi e i preoccupazioni.

Il Pride Festival da Turitg ei il pli grond LGBT eveniment dalla Svizra. L’associaziun promova la LGBT Community ell’ entira Svizra e representa lur interess e lur supplicas anoviars.

1994 – birth of the annual Pride Parade
Since 1994 the annual Zurich Pride (formerly known as Christopher Streetday) takes place in Zurich. Inspired by the Stonewall Riots in New York and the subsequent Christopher Streetday movement, gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender of Switzerland have been  demonstrating for equal rights and against discrimination in Zurich.

Successful fight for equality
As the first canton (state) of Switzerland Zurich introduced the partnership law in July 2003. In June, 2005 the Swiss citizens voted for the national partnership law, what allowed gays and lesbians to have nearly the same rights and duties like married couples. Therefore Switzerland was the first country on earth in which the partnership law was introduced by election.  Due to a lot of efforts the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans* community reached a lot in equality matters. This leads to a bunch of doubts within and outside the community if the demonstration for equality’s still necessary.

Protect achievements – catch equality
Zurich Pride Festival is convinced: If the estimation to have reached everything fixes in peoples mind, this will be the biggest opportunity to lose hard-fought achievements. We’re glad and proud of what the community won in the past years. We agree that a majority of the Swiss population doesn’t negative lesbians, gays, bisexuals and trans*. But there’s still a lot to do:

• Same sex couples are not allowed to adopt children.
• The suicide-rate of LGBT juveniles is still considerably higher compared to heterosexuals.
• Within sport homosexuality is still a taboo and trans people nearly nonexistent.
• Within the working environment a slight removal of taboos is noticeable, but still a coming-out can imply an end of a career.

The federal council of Switzerland recommended a “peoples initiative” for acceptance that likes to embed the marriage as a union between man and woman into the constitution. This would mean a big step back. The Russian example shows, that homophobic and transphobic laws are a sad reality.

Now more than ever
Yes – we reached a lot, but there’s still more to do. Therefore the slogan of the jubilee Pride 2014 is:

NOW MORE THAN EVER

In June 2014, Zurich Pride Festival will walk through the inner city of Zurich and show that there’s still much to do. If people think the community will rest on the goals we reached, we like to remind that we, now more than ever fight for full equality. We want to show what we reached, but still bring into mind, how we want to continue. It is a fact: The community and their friends will not rest until equality and acceptance of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and trans* all over the world is a matter of course.

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